Kelly Hayes
Hillsborough County has vaccinated 411,259 people, according to the latest dataset released by the Florida Department of Health on Thursday.
The county crossed the milestone Wednesday, when it administered 12,828 new vaccinations. So far, 213,850 individuals have been fully vaccinated in the county, including 31,454 who have received the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The remaining 197,409 individuals are awaiting a second vaccine to complete the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot series.
Only two weeks ago, the county crossed the 300,000 marker.
In Pinellas County, 337,891 individuals have been vaccinated against COVID-19. That includes 201,550 people who are fully vaccinated, encompassing 13,791 people who have received a one-shot vaccine. There are 136,341 individuals in the county awaiting a second dose for a two-shot series.
On Wednesday, Pinellas County saw 8,211 people vaccinated.
Despite optimism shown by the strides in vaccine numbers, Hillsborough County has continued to see a rise in COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks.
On Wednesday, the county confirmed 531 new cases of COVID-19, as well as seven new deaths and seven additional hospitalizations.
The county has also been seeing a higher than normal positivity rate in the last two weeks, reporting a rate of 8.22% on Wednesday, down from Tuesday’s 9.91%. Throughout the week, the county’s positivity rate has teetered around 10%, a rate health experts define as an indicator of mass community spread.
Since the start of the pandemic, Hillsborough County has seen 125,180 COVID-19 cases and 1,630 resulting deaths.
Pinellas County is also seeing higher-than-usual case numbers. In the most recent report, the county confirmed 338 new cases of COVID-19. While it did not report any new deaths, it did see four additional hospitalizations.
Pinellas County did report a lower positivity rate on Wednesday, coming in at 5.81%, lower than the previous few days, which have reported rates steadily around 7%.
So far, Pinellas County has seen 74,155 cases of COVID-19, as well as 1,559 virus-related deaths.
