Florida reports fewer than 1,000 COVID deaths for first time in months; CDC approves Moderna, J&J boosters

For the first time since the end of July, Florida reported fewer than 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a week.

The report comes the same week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots.

Florida's death toll climbed by 944 people in the past week, a comparison of state heath department reports from Friday and Oct. 15 shows. That's the smallest increase since July 30.

State health officials have recorded 58,803 deaths among residents since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Palm Beach County's fatality count has reached 4,162, the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reported Wednesday. The state stopped reporting county-level death tolls in June, but still sends them to the federal government.

The share of COVID-19 tests confirming the presence of the deadly respiratory disease also dropped. Just 3.4% statewide and countywide came back positive, the state's Friday report said. The last time Florida saw positivity levels that low was June 11.

It's the third week in a row that less than 5% of tests statewide came back positive. Health experts have recommended the positivity rate remain lower than that for at least two weeks straight before considering the virus under control.

Map:See COVID-19 vaccination rates through in your Palm Beach County ZIP code

COVID-19 charts:See the latest data for Palm Beach County and Florida

Still, Florida experienced those lows in early summer, just before being hit with the largest rash of infections it ever saw, making it the national epicenter of the pandemic in August.

But since August, infections have nosedived. The state recorded 14,564 more infections in the week ended Friday, the least amount since July 25, and much less than the weeks spanning late July through early September when more than 100,000 infections a week were detected.

In Palm Beach County, 998 more people were confirmed infected in the past seven days, the first time since July 2 that number has been below 1,000.

A total of 224,195 people have tested positive since March 2020, covering 15% of Palm Beach County residents.

Across Florida, 3,635,126 people have tested positive since the start of the pandemic, or 16.9% of the population.

The state added 74,850 more people to its COVID-19 vaccination count in the past week, slightly higher than the 71,500 recorded Oct. 15, but lower than every other week besides that.

A total of 13,865,300 state residents have now gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, representing 73% of the eligible population ages 12 and older.

That includes a total of 875,991 people who have gotten boosters beyond the second shot of the two-dose regimens.

Just 3,939 more Palm Beach County residents were added over the past week to the county's inoculation tally, the lowest level since Dec. 29. 

A total of 977,431 Palm Beach County residents have received their shots, though the state no longer reports how many have gotten more than one injection. That number covers 75% of eligible residents.

Boosters in Palm Beach County and Florida

Publix, CVS and Walgreens are now offering the Moderna and J&J booster shots nationwide.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday night approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots.

Those eligible include seniors 65 and older and any adult 18 or older who lives in a nursing home; has an underlying medical condition; or work or live in "high-risk settings" such as hospitals, schools, farms, manufacturing, prisons and grocery stores. (Check the CDC's website for more information.)

To schedule a shot at CVS, go to their web page at cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine. 

For Walgreens, go to walgreens.com/topic/promotion/covid-vaccine.jsp, call 1-800-Walgreens (925473367) or a local store.

Publix has a "limited supply" of J&J boosters, spokeswoman Maria Brous said Friday in an email.

Palm Beach County residents seeking boosters from other sources should "make an appointment at their doctor's offices or pharmacies so when the supplies are available they can get the boosters." said Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the state-run Palm Beach County health department.

The tax-funded Health Care District of Palm Beach County is not yet offering Moderna or J&J boosters, spokeswoman Robin Kish said Friday. The district runs Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade, the only public hospital in the county, along with COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites countywide.

The district "is reviewing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance on COVID-19 booster shots," Kish wrote in an email. "The Health Care District’s mobile clinics offer third doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine per CDC guidelines for eligible individuals 18 years and older who present their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card showing they received two previous Pfizer doses."

Booster-seekers can also go online to vaccines.gov to find out where and when they can get those shots.

Rapid testing in Wellington

COVID-19 testing company Curative will start providing rapid PCR testing Monday in Wellington. The company recommends scheduling appointments at Curative.com but also allows walk-ups.

The free tests will be conducted 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays in the parking lot near the Aquatics Complex at 12072 Forest Hill Boulevard, the city said Friday in a news release, and results will be available within two to three hours.

For a full list of rapid testing sites across Palm Beach County, go to https://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/pages/testing-sites.aspx.

Chris Persaud is a data reporter for The Palm Beach Post.