Florida Covid Statistics: What is Really Happening? September 2, 2021

I have also published delta variant information and in-depth Covid-19 information.

Florida is the only state in the US which is releasing statistics on a weekly, not daily, basis. Let’s look at these two charts from the Florida Department of Health.

Here is some of the data from August 27–September 2, 2021:

New cases = 129,240; Cumulative cases = 3,308,916
New deaths = 433; Cumulative deaths = 46,324
Vaccination rate = 69%
Fully vaccinated people = 10,880,393

The vaccination rate of 69% represents only those who are eligible for vaccination and includes partially vaccinated people. Florida’s population is currently 21,975,117. That makes the actual full vaccination percentage = 49.5%.

Florida COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report: August 27–September 2, 2021

Note that archived data on influenza statistics is readily available on the FL Dept of Health web site:

Florida Influenza Surveillance Reports 2003–2021

The chart for August 20–26, 2021 is from a screenshot because Florida is immediately removing all traces of older Covid data when the new data is put online:

New cases = 151,749; Cumulative cases = 3,179,714
New deaths = 389; Cumulative deaths = 43,979
Vaccination rate = 68%
Fully vaccinated people = 10,785,185

August 26, 2021 Florida Statistics: What is Really Happening?

Covid Deaths in Florida:

Despite making national news this week for the state government’s attempt to cover up the number of deaths, nothing has changed in the Florida Department of Health’s methodology.

The Hill: Florida Reported ‘Artificial Decline’ in COVID-19 Deaths as Cases Were Surging

Subtracting the September 2^nd new deaths from the cumulative deaths should give us the number of August 26^th cumulative deaths. However, doing that reveals 1,912 deaths which were not included in the August 26^th data.

There was a total of 2,345 deaths reported in Florida during that week. Yet only 18% of deaths (433) are reflected clearly on the September 2^nd report.

Florida COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report: August 27–September 2, 2021

This is a 36% increase since the previous week, when counties reported 1727 deaths.

August 26, 2021 Florida Statistics: What is Really Happening

When the state receives a report of a death from a previous week, that information is added to “Cumulative Deaths” without being noted in “Previous Week Deaths.” It usually takes more than one week for death reports to get sent to the state.

Unless someone knows to compare the two data sets from both weeks, that is not apparent. By removing data from August 26^th and adding data from September 2^nd simultaneously, only people who have saved the older data can see what they are doing. It looks like the death rate is 82% better than it is.

Florida Politics: Florida Reports 1000+ Covid-19 Deaths in Past Week

On June 4^th, the state removed all data from anyone who has not established permanent residency and stopped reporting information from visitors, seasonal residents, and migrant workers. This deleted 744 deaths:

FL Covid-19 Cases and Monitoring as of June 3, 2021

Covid Cases in Florida:

On the September 2^nd report, Florida reported 3,308,916 cumulative cases. Of those, 129,240 were new. Subtracting the new number from the cumulative one should give us the cumulative number from the previous week: 3,179,714.

However, the August 19^th report shows a cumulative number of 3,179,676, a discrepancy of 38 extra cases. Why that difference exists remains unclear. It is a marked improvement from August 12^th’s 622 extra cases.

On June 4^th, the state removed all data from anyone who is not a permanent resident and stopped reporting it. This deleted 43,535 cases.

Given the current situation in Florida schools, any mention of the number of cases occurring specifically in children under the age of 12 is notably absent:

Florida COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report: August 27–September 2, 2021

A professor from the University of South Florida has been compiling data from the state since May 28^th. Here is what he has posted about pediatric cases since then until August 27^th:

During the week of August 20–27, 23,557 children under twelve tested positive in Florida, a decrease of 11% over the previous week. Among those 12–19, 19,687 tested positive, a decrease of 9%. In total, 43,224 Florida residents under the age of twenty tested positive.

Salemi USF: COVID-19 in Florida

Many Florida school districts are reporting their own data. In the Hillsborough County School District, 34% of the 7670 cases have occurred in the past week. The school year began on August 10^th. My daughters’ high school has had 58, an increase of 87% in the past week; our elementary school has had 35, an increase of 25%.

Hillsborough County Public Schools Covid Dashboard

Look at the difference in ease of use between the Dept of Health’s county positivity rates:

Florida COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report: August 27–September 2, 2021

and Jason Salemi’s:

You can click on the maps for detailed information on each county. He also lists the data for each week since May 28, 2021, when Florida deleted its daily dashboard.

Salemi USF: COVID-19 in Florida

Covid Hospitalizations in Florida:

You won’t find any hospitalization information on Florida’s Weekly Surveillance Reports. Florida stopped reporting Covid hospitalization June 24, 2021. However, Florida must relay all hospitalization data to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Florida has the worst hospitalization rate for adults in the nation; fifth worst for children:

Salemi USF: COVID-19 Currently Hospitalized in Florida

You can also find statistics on the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, choosing Florida as the Jurisdiction and stratifying by any age:

For August 1, 2020–September 2, 2021, Florida had 272,510 new admissions for Covid patients, with a daily average of 1,757 new admissions over the past seven days. Admissions declined by 14.6% from the previous week. Every age group declined except for those ages 0–17, who had a 5% rise.

On September ^2nd, there were 8.18 new admissions/100,000 Floridians:

Age	Admissions
0–17	1.54
18–29	2.9
30–39	6.26
40–49	8.11
50–59	10.62
60–69	12.03
70+	16.2
all ages	8.18

COVID Data Tracker: New Admissions of Patients with Confirmed COVID-19 per 100,000 Population by Age Group

Due to the Labor Day holiday, the American Academy of Pediatrics will publish its state data report on September 7^th.

American Academy of Pediatrics: Children and COVID-19 State Data Report

While the number of hospitalized adults is falling, the number of children remains steady:

Salemi USF: COVID-19 in Florida Hospital Admissions by Age

HHS also tracks Hospital Utilization. Searching by facility does not include the number of Covid-19 patients.

However, after scrolling down to Inpatient Bed Utilization by State, you can choose Florida. On September 4^th, 2021, 88% of hospital beds in Florida were full. Covid patients accounted for 24% of them.