TAMPA, Fla. — Right now for the Tampa Bay area, the spike in COVID-19 cases this summer is much higher than last summer's. In June, it finally happened for Phil Compton of Seminole Heights, who just got COVID for the first time.
“Five weeks ago today I had a big day out,” he says. “I had three situations where I could have caught COVID, [including] a three-hour long meeting with 40 people inside, no mask.”
Only in the last week or so has his life returned to normal; he's one of hundreds of thousands of Floridians who've contracted COVID during this summer surge with very contagious variants, known as “FLiRT” variants because of the letters corresponding with amino acids that mark the variations.
“It really knocked me on my butt,” he adds. “This was my first time, I was a COVID virgin, but a little spatial disorientation, you know, little things, the fogginess.”
June COVID numbers from the Florida Department of Health show that cases are up to 40% higher in the Bay area counties than last June. Hillsborough had 2478 cases in June, up from 1861 last June; Pinellas had 1783 and 1124, Polk had 1703 and 1037, Pasco had 964 and 583, and Manatee had 471 and 390, respectively.
“Here in Florida, there's been an increase in the amount of COVID that they've detected in the wastewater,” USF virologist Dr. Michael Teng said. “That's a really important part of our surveillance. The 'FLiRT' variants — it's really kind of a cool, sexy name for it, but it really is just the next evolution of the virus trying to avoid our immune system.”
Jim Sawyers lives in Carrollwood and got COVID a couple of weeks ago.
“Be aware of how you're feeling,” he recommends. “If you're feeling out of sorts, be willing to get tested. It's cheap.”
He says the anti-viral drug Paxlovid was hard to find.
“Paxlovid was on backorder Publix, Publix’s warehouse, Walgreens. Nobody really had it.”
He spent an entire day tracking down a supply to finally find one.
Both men recovered but Compton says he wishes he wore a mask at that meeting a few weeks back.
“When you're indoors, consider wearing a mask,” he says. “It's not a big deal. Getting sick with COVID is a big deal.”
Experts say the new “FLiRT” variants are more contagious because they've adapted to our immune system.
While most are not getting seriously ill, it still can be deadly with nearly 3,000 COVID-related deaths in Florida so far this year.