Florida breaks COVID-19 deaths record fifth week in a row as vaccinations, infections slow

Florida broke its COVID-19 death record for the fifth week in a row as inoculations slowed to its lowest pace since early January.

The state added 2,468 residents to its death toll this week, the Department of Health reported Friday. Coronavirus casualties can take weeks, sometimes months, to enter official reports.

Florida's death toll for residents sat at 51,240. The state stopped reporting deaths of nonresidents diagnosed here in June, when it switched from reporting daily to Friday afternoons only.

More:'Tell all of our family to get vaccinated': COVID kills 6 members of Glades family in 3 weeks

More:50,000 Floridians killed by COVID-19, taking only one month since 40,000 died

For subscribers:COVID-19 scuttles safety patrol D.C. field trip, disappointing hundreds of fifth-graders

At the same time, Florida added just 145,542 to its vaccine count, the lowest weekly increase since Jan. 5, when shots were restricted to nursing home staff and patients, as well as elderly residents ages 65 and older.

Unchecked misinformation surrounding the vaccines continues to spread. A guest who spoke during a Monday news conference hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely claimed that the vaccine changes recipients' RNA. No evidence supports that assertion. DeSantis did not correct the guest's statement.

In all, 13,427,208 Florida residents have gotten at least one shot of the free vaccine, which boosts recipients' immune systems against the deadly respiratory illness. That's 70% of the eligible population ages 12 and older.

That includes 11,208,873 fully vaccinated residents, the Friday report shows, or 59% of the eligible population.

Of those inoculated, 277,551 have gotten third shots. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends third shots for people with weakened immune systems.

Other large states have immunized a greater share of their residents than Florida, such as New York (72%), California (67.5%) and Illinois (61%), the CDC reported Friday.

Florida's logged 75,998 more infections in the past week, much lower than the weekly sums of around 150,000 documented in August during the height of the latest wave of infections.

People who are not fully immunized have driven the latest spike in coronavirus cases. In Palm Beach County, for example, 83% of COVID-19 hospital patients are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, the county Department of Emergency Management reported Friday.

The virus has infected 3,485,163 residents statewide and 214,792 in Palm Beach County since the pandemic began.

In another sign the statewide surge is receding, 11.2% of COVID-19 tests came back positive over the past week, the state reported Friday, lower than the 13.5% recorded Sept. 10 and 19.8% on Aug. 20.

Chris Persaud is a data reporter for The Palm Beach Post. Email tips to cpersaud@pbpost.com.