Hospitalizations and cases of COVID-19 drop in Brevard, CDC says – Florida Today
The rate of deaths attributed to COVID-19 remained steady for Brevard over the past week, though cases of the virus and hospitalizations dropped, according to national health agency data.
Between Feb. 23 through March 1, there were 277 reported new infections of COVID-19 on the Space Coast, with 46.02 cases per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s a difference of just over 100 cases, with 378 cases and a case rate of 62.80 cases per 100,000 people reported the previous week between Feb. 16 and Feb. 22.
Additionally, the positivity rate dropped, going from 9.63% between Feb. 14 through Feb. 20 to 8.13% between Feb. 21 and Feb. 27, according to the CDC.
Hospitalizations also dropped by four, with the CDC reporting 24 new admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Brevard between Feb. 22 and Feb. 28 as compared to the 28 they reported between Feb. 15 and Feb. 21.
Both weeks, deaths attributed to the virus were reported as fewer than 10, though the CDC did not provide an exact number. The agency also does not provide demographic information regarding the deceased patients such as their sexes, ages or whether or not they suffered from comorbid health issues.
Brevard is still considered a community of low COVID-19 levels, a status the CDC calculates through hospitalizations and case numbers.
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Among Brevard residents age 5 and older, 70.1% have completed their primary series of shots against COVID-19, according to CDC data. Of that population, 13.1% have received their Bivalent booster, a 0% increase from the previous week.
Across the United States, 73.3% of people age 5 and older have completed their primary series of shots against COVID, while 17.2% of that population has received their updated Bivalent booster.
While the booster shot was initially created to target the original strain of COVID as well as the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, experts say it could provide some protection against other strains of the virus.
The XBB.1.5 variant remained the dominant variant throughout the United States this week, making up about 89.6% of all reported cases between Feb. 26 and March 4, according to the CDC. That’s an increase of about 4.6% over the past week, with the variant making up about 85% of reported cases the prior week.
BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 were the second and third most dominant strains, making up 6.7% and 1.6% of cases respectively.
There have been 103,499,382 reported cases of COVID and 1,117,856 deaths attributed to the virus across the country since the start of the pandemic, according to the CDC. In Brevard, there have been 2,300 deaths attributed to COVID since March 2020.
Where to get vaccinated
The Florida Department of Health has three vaccine sites in Brevard.
- Viera clinic, at 2555 Judge Fran Jamieson Way.
- Melbourne clinic, 601 E. University Blvd.
- Titusville clinic, 611 N. Singleton Ave.
Vaccines are also available at Omni Healthcare’s offices, as well as at their walk-in vaccination clinic located in Suite 303 on the third floor of 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. in Melbourne, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Brevard residents can also get vaccinated from 9 a.m. to noon in Suite 2C of Omni’s 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. complex.
Shots are also available at local pharmacies, such as Walgreens, CVS and Publix. Check your pharmacy’s website to schedule a vaccination appointment.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker.
