Thanks to vaccination push, South Florida’s COVID-19 numbers are plummeting

Image via AP.

South Florida’s vaccination push has sent COVID-19 case numbers plunging, according to recent data from the Department of Health.

The seven-day case positivity rate — measuring the share of COVID-19 tests coming back positive — is now at its lowest levels in the region in nearly six months, since the middle of October. The same is true for the raw case totals in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The positivity rate has dropped a whopping two percentage points in just the past two weeks in each major South Florida county.

Raw case numbers show a similar trend. The seven-day case average is down 43% in Broward from the week of April 20 to the week of May 4. Palm Beach’s numbers are down nearly 37% during that span, and Miami-Dade County has seen a 33% drop in cases.

The death toll has also begun dropping in Broward, but has remained steady in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. That’s because deaths are a lagging indicator, and can take weeks to catch up to case trends. With fewer Floridians contracting the virus, expect those death numbers to drop as well.

The fact that raw case numbers have gone down so quickly shows the effectiveness of the vaccine push in the region. Even so, South Florida is experiencing a slowdown in vaccinations as the most willing individuals have mostly secured both of their shots.

Comparing numbers from the week of March 30 — prior to the state opening up the vaccine to all adults — to the week of April 27 (four weeks later), the number of shots distributed is down 18% in Miami-Dade County, 12% in Palm Beach County and just under 8% in Broward County.

It’s unclear whether additional incentives can convince the vaccine hesitant to schedule shots. But recent statistics show the benefits of having that protection, and the Governor has encouraged Floridians to get vaccinated as the state continues to open up.

Here are some of the weekly numbers for the previous three weeks throughout the South Florida tri-county area:

Miami-Dade

— April 20-26: 27 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 10 newly reported deaths per day, 1,072 new confirmed cases per day, 6.4% positivity rate, 24,659 vaccine doses administered per day, 12,141 vaccinations completed per day

— April 27-May 3: 21 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 11 newly reported deaths per day, 913 new confirmed cases per day, 5.6% positivity rate, 22,015 vaccine doses administered per day, 12,477 vaccinations completed per day

— May 4-10: 22 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 10 newly reported deaths per day, 720 new confirmed cases per day, 4.5% positivity rate, 21,438 vaccine doses administered per day, 14,872 vaccinations completed per day

Broward

— April 20-26: 22 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 12 newly reported deaths per day, 638 new confirmed cases per day, 6.1% positivity rate, 15,861 vaccine doses administered per day, 8,954 vaccinations completed per day

— April 27-May 3: 19 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly reported deaths per day, 519 new confirmed cases per day, 5.5% positivity rate, 15,268 vaccine doses administered per day, 9,672 vaccinations completed per day

— May 4-10: 17 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly reported deaths per day, 361 new confirmed cases per day, 4.2% positivity rate, 11,955 vaccine doses administered per day, 8,189 vaccinations completed per day

Palm Beach

— April 20-26: 14 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 4 newly reported deaths per day, 361 new confirmed cases per day, 6.2% positivity rate, 11,378 vaccine doses administered per day, 7,228 vaccinations completed per day

— April 27-May 3: 10 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 3 newly reported deaths per day, 289 new confirmed cases per day, 5.3% positivity rate, 9,726 vaccine doses administered per day, 6,680 vaccinations completed per day

— May 4-10: 11 newly reported hospitalizations per day, 4 newly reported deaths per day, 229 new confirmed cases per day, 4.3% positivity rate, 8,378 vaccine doses administered per day, 6,165 vaccinations completed per day