TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state of Florida will continue reporting COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates on a weekly basis amid calls for more frequent updates.
Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told 10 Tampa Bay there are "no plans to resume the daily reports" that became commonplace during the pandemic and into 2021.
The Florida Department of Health switched to releasing reports once a week in early June as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations dropped. But since then, the more transmissible delta variant has taken hold as the more prominent variant and vaccinations to fight it have stalled.
New cases of COVID-19 in Florida make up one-fifth of the country's new infections, according to The Associated Press.
"The weekly reports are informative, and the Florida Department of Health has been a leader in data reporting and transparency throughout the pandemic," Pushaw said in a statement. "We encourage anyone who is concerned about COVID to get a vaccine, which are freely available throughout the state."
On Friday, the Department of Health reported 73,199 new cases overall for the week of July 16-22. The percent positivity of new cases climbed to a new months-long high of 15.1 percent. These surging COVID-19 case numbers primarily are among the younger populations — the same people with lower vaccination rates, according to state data.
Health officials say more frequent updates are helpful in the decision-making process, such as how school leaders prepare for the upcoming year or whether a person figures whether to attend a large event or masks up.
"There was absolutely no reason to eliminate the daily updates beyond an effort to pretend like there are no updates," state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from the Orlando area, told the AP.
People 12 and older are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for people 18 up. All have been found to be effective against COVID-19, with a recent study finding two doses of the Pfizer vaccine offering 88-percent protection against infection caused by the delta variant.
Visit the Florida Department of Health's website to find a vaccine location near you.
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