Did the fourth wave powered by the Covid variant start in Florida? Emergency room visits for coronavirus symptoms are 30% higher in the State of the Sun compared to the rest of the USA
- New CDC data shows that 2.6% of all emergency department visits in Florida are for coronavirus-like illnesses
- This number is 30% higher than the 2% seen for visits to the emergency department in the USA
- It turns out that Florida became the first US state to register more than 600 cases of the United Kingdom variant, known as B.1.1.7
- Experts say that the State of the Sun has one of the fastest rates of spread of B.1.1.7 and that the only way to prevent an increase is by increasing vaccination
The UK’s highly contagious coronavirus variant could threaten the progress being made to contain the Florida pandemic.
Although cases and deaths continue to decline in the Sunshine State, progress is being made more slowly than at the national level.
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that two percent of all emergency department visits in the United States are for coronavirus-like illnesses.
In Florida, that number is 2.6%, almost a third higher than the national number.
It turns out that the state became the first in the US to register more than 600 cases of the UK variant, with cases doubling almost every 10 days.
New CDC data shows that 2.6% of all emergency department visits in Florida are for coronavirus-like illnesses (purple line), which is 30% higher than the 2% seen for emergency department visits in the United States. USA (red line)
It turns out that Florida became the first US state to register more than 600 cases of the United Kingdom variant, known as B.1.1.7
The UK variant was first discovered in Kent County in September, but was not considered a ‘Variant of Concern’ (VOC) until December.
Its name, B.1.1.7, derives from the location of its most significant mutations.
It now accounts for at least 60% of all cases in Britain.
Most estimates place it at about 70 percent more infectious than the older variants of the ‘wild-type’ coronavirus.
More moderate projections say its transmissibility is only 56% higher.
B.1.1.7 was detected in 49 states, but it is more prevalent in the USA, with 642 cases linked to the variant.
Michigan, the second state with the second highest number of cases, 437, has just over half of that.
The first case was detected in a man in his 20s in Martin County, southwest Florida, on New Year’s Eve, with no travel history.
That means it took just 66 days for cases to exceed 600 cases, meaning that the number of infections in the state was doubling every nine days, according to a pre-printed study.
The study also found that cases of B 1.1.7 currently account for more than 5% of all cases in Florida and are likely to only increase.
A pre-printed study found that cases involving the new variant are more prevalent in Florida, doubling every nine days
“Florida is leading in terms of one of the fastest rates in B.1.1.7,” Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at the Federation of American Scientists, told CBS 12 News.
‘The natural contagiousness of B.1.1.7 means that it will infect many people.’
With Florida easing almost all restrictions on COVID-19, Feigl-Ding believes the state may see a wave of cases like in the summer.
He said the only way to control the virus is to speed up vaccinations. So far, 17.3% of Florida residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC.
“When this virus dominates the United States, we will have a lot of problems if we don’t reach very high levels of vaccination by March,” Feigl-Ding told CBS 12 News.
“We need to vaccinate now and as soon as possible, because every day is literally important.”
