Jesse Scheckner
South Florida COVID-19 case positivity rates fell to another record low over the last week, according to the latest weekly report from the Department of Health, which for the first time included vaccination percentages for residents as young as 5.
Just 1.7% of tests in Miami-Dade County came back positive Nov. 5-11, the report said. The rate was 2.2% and 2.5% in Broward and Palm Beach counties, respectively, continuing an encouraging downward trend that began in early August.
In two of the three counties, Broward and Palm Beach, the number of weekly cases also shrank, albeit at a smaller rate than in weeks prior, indicating they are close to bottoming out and possibly reaching endemic status. Such may be the case in Miami-Dade, where there were 25 more cases than in the week prior.
Raw cases in Broward fell 5% week-over-week, from 1,099 to 1,037, marking a leveling out compared to the 14% drop the county saw one week earlier.
In Palm Beach, cases dropped 10% from 793 the week before to 713 over the last seven days. Over the prior period, the rate of decrease was also 10%.
Positive case counts rose 1% in Miami-Dade, from 2,099 to 2,124, ending a more than two-month run of diminishing weekly numbers there.
Vaccination percentages fell across all three counties, but for good reason: nearly 45,000 Floridian kids ages 5 to 11 got their first dose, part of an estimated 900,000 previously ineligible youths the White House estimated would get jabs this week.
In Miami-Dade, the county with the highest vaccination rate in the state, the percentage of residents who received at least one dose of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine fell from 95% to 87% to accommodate the newly eligible age bracket.
In Broward, it fell from 83% to 76%. In Palm Beach, 76% to 70%.
Here are some of the weekly numbers for the previous three weeks throughout the South Florida tri-county area:
Miami-Dade
— Oct. 22-28: 2,215 newly confirmed cases, 2% positivity rate, 13,449 vaccine doses administered, 94% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
— Oct. 29-Nov. 4: 2,099 newly confirmed cases, 1.8% positivity rate, 12,121 vaccine doses administered, 95% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
— Nov. 5-11: 2,124 newly confirmed cases, 1.7% positivity rate, 20,127 vaccine doses administered, 87% of 5-and-up population now vaccinated
Broward
— Oct. 22-28: 1,271 newly confirmed cases, 2.6% positivity rate, 6,554 vaccine doses administered, 83% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
— Oct. 29-Nov. 4: 1,099 newly confirmed cases, 2.3% positivity rate, 5,499 vaccine doses administered, 83% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
— Nov. 5-11: 1,037 newly confirmed cases, 2.2% positivity rate, 11,325 vaccine doses administered, 76% of 5-and-up population now vaccinated
Palm Beach
— Oct. 22-28: 879 newly confirmed cases, 3% positivity rate, 3,962 vaccine doses administered, 75% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
— Oct. 29-Nov. 4: 793 newly confirmed cases, 2.9% positivity rate, 3,491 vaccine doses administered, 76% of 12-and-up population now vaccinated
Nov. 5-11: 713 newly confirmed cases, 2.5% positivity rate, 7,631 vaccine doses administered, 70% of 5-and-up population now vaccinated
