COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Tampa Bay as vaccinations stall

On-trend with the statewide surge, Tampa Bay continued to see more COVID-19 cases this past week.

Hillsborough County reported 10,920 new cases of COVID-19 from Aug. 6 through Aug. 12, according to the latest Florida Department of Health weekly report. That’s more than 2,000 more cases reported in the week prior, which saw 8,583 new COVID-19 cases from July 30 through Aug. 5.

Hillsborough’s case positivity rate, which is the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive for cases not yet recorded, averaged 23.1% the last week, once again higher than it was the week prior, which reported a rate of 22.8%.

Since the start of the pandemic, the county has seen 182,556 cases of COVID-19.

With the increasing number of cases, more people seem to be getting vaccinated.

This week, the county reached a milestone, with 60% of those eligible to receive a vaccine now vaccinated in Hillsborough County. That eligibility accounts for the county’s 12 years and older population.

So far, 768,922 people have been vaccinated in the county.

In the last week, 16,609 people got vaccinated. That’s slightly less than the week prior, where the county saw 17,547 new vaccinations but is still the second-highest number of vaccinations the county has seen in recent weeks.

Pinellas County also reported more new cases this week, adding 6,434 to the count. That’s a little over a thousand more cases than the county saw the week prior, in which 5,125 new cases of COVID-19 were reported. Since the start of the pandemic, the county has seen 101,233 cases of COVID-19.

This week, Pinellas County also reported a higher positivity rate at 19.2%, slightly up from the prior week’s 18% positivity rate.

Similar to Hillsborough County, Pinellas County saw 9,716 vaccinations in the last week — slightly less than that of the week prior, which recorded 10,608 vaccinations. Now, 62% of the vaccine-eligible population has been inoculated in the county.

So far, 552,310 people have received a shot in Pinellas County.

Over in Pasco County, 3,871 new cases were reported over the past week, compared to 3,404 new cases seen in the week prior’s caseload. The county also saw a 25.6% average positivity rate, up from 24.3% reported the week prior.

Pasco has seen 56,511 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

As far as vaccinations, Pasco is also following the rising trend. In Pasco County, 60% of those eligible have received a shot, or 285,539 people. The county also reported 6,153 new vaccinations in the last week, slightly down from only 6,457 the week before.