How long to 'herd immunity'? About 8% of Florida's population has had COVID-19'; about 9.8% has been vaccinated

Posted 2/11/21

Vaccinations continue in Florida.

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How long to 'herd immunity'? About 8% of Florida's population has had COVID-19'; about 9.8% has been vaccinated

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With more people in Florida being vaccinated each day, how long until the state has some kind of "herd immunity" against the COVID-19 virus?

Herd immunity is the idea that if enough people are vaccinated against a dangerous disease, those who are susceptible and cannot get vaccinated are protected because the virus is less likely to be spread.

People who get the virus and survive it may also contribute to herd immunity, but scientists are not sure how long  such immunity lasts with COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci has estimated vaccinating 75% to 85% of the population  might do the trick.

Another unknown factor in the equation: A number of people who had COVID-19 might not know it because they did not have symptoms or only had mild smyptoms and were not tested. 

Statewide
The 2019 census estimate (the most recent data available) for the population of Florida was 21,477,737. Since the pandemic started 1,765,659 Florida residents have tested positive for COVID-19, or about 8% of the population (after subtracting those who died). As of the Feb. 10 report, 2,110,794 people had been vaccinated in Florida, the equivalent of 9.8% of the total population. Assuming most of those who were vaccinated are not also part of the group that had the virus, that would give a potential immunity to 17.8% of the state's population.

Florida has had 28,208 covid-related deaths since the pandemic started.  That's 1.3 deaths per 1,000 population.

• The 2019 census estimate for Okeechobee County was 42,168. As of the Feb. 10 report by the Florida Department of Health, a total of 3,351 Okeechobee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started. Subtracting the positive cases who died died, that’s about 7.7% of the county population. As of the Feb. 10 report, 3,374 persons have been vaccinated. That’s equivalent to 8% of the population. That gives a total of 15.7% of the Okeechobee County population may have immunity.

Since the pandemic started, Okeechobee County has 69 covid-related deaths. That's 1.6 deaths per 1,000 population.
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Glades County’s census population is 12,884. As of Feb. 10, 870 Glades County residents had tested positive since the pandemic started. That’s about 6.6% of the county population, not counting the COVID-19 positives who died. As of the Feb. 10 report, 831 people had been vaccinated in Glades County. That’s equivalent to 6.4% of the population. That's a total of 13% for immunity Glades County.

Since the pandemic started, Glades County has 14 covid-related deaths. That's about 1.1 deaths per 1,000 population.

Hendry County’s census population is 42,022. Since the pandemic started, 4,137 county residents have tested positive. That’s about 9.7% of the total population, not counting the COVID-19 positives who died. As of the Feb. 10 report, 2,338 people have been vaccinated in Hendry County. That’s equivalent to 5.5% of the county’s total population.  That gives Hendry County a total of 15.2% of the population with possible immunity.

Since the pandemic started Hendry County has 61 covid-related deaths. That's 1.4 deaths per 1,000 population.

Palm Beach County’s census population is 1,496,770. Since the pandemic started, 110,500 residents have tested positive. That’s equivalent to 7.2% of the county’s popultion. As of the Feb. 10 report, 205,737 people had been vaccinated, eqivalent to 13.7%. A total of 20.9% of the population with immunity puts Palm Beach County above the state average.

Since the pandemic started, the county has had 2,294 covid-related deaths. That's about 1.5 deaths per 1,000 population.

• Collier County’s census population is 321,520. As of the Feb. 10 report, 27,831 residents had tested positive, or about 8.5% of the population, not counting the positive cases who died. As of Feb. 10, the DOH report shows 52,019 people vaccinated, the equivalent of 16.1% of the county population.  That means 24.7% of Collier County's population could have immunity.

As of Feb. 10, Collier County had 442 covid-related deaths. That's about 1.4 deaths per 1,000 population.

• Martin County’s census population is 161,000. Since the pandemic started, 9,773 Martin County residents have tested positive. That’s about 5,9% of the population. As of the Feb. 10 report, 24,768 persons had been vaccinated. That’s equal to about 15.3% of the total population. That puts Martin County at 21.2% of the population with immunity.

As of Feb. 10, Martin County had 262 covid-related deaths - about 1.6 deaths per 1,000 population.

• Lee County’s census population is 770,557. As of Feb. 10, the county had 54,762 positive cases since the start of the pandemic. That’s equal to 7% of the population, not counting the postive cases who died. As of the Feb. 10 report, 79,593 people had been vaccinated, the equivalent of 10.3% of the population. That totals 17.3% of the population with possible immunity to the virus in Collier County.

As of Feb. 10, Lee County had 835 covid-related deaths, about 1.1 death per 1,000 population.

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