Florida Reports a Record Number of Covid Cases and Hospitalizations

Sometimes I remember that the “19″ in covid-19 stands for 2019, as in the year that the first covid cases were reported. Then I remember that it’s 2021, close to two full years after the generally agreed-upon “start” of the coronavirus pandemic, and I think “cool” and “great,” even “nothing better than that.”

Anyway, we’ve lived with the novel coronavirus for this long, and we’re still seeing alarming transmission stats throughout the United States, largely thanks to the virus’s exponentially more contagious Delta variant. The number of people hospitalized for covid-related treatment has risen dramatically in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, and other states, CNN reports. Florida even reported a record number of hospitalizations on Saturday, per the Associated Press, one day after reporting a similarly record-breaking 21,683 daily new cases.

The vast majority of those individuals hospitalized are unvaccinated, CNN notes, which makes sense given the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent statement estimating that getting fully vaccinated could reduce the risk of infection three-fold and lower your chances of severe disease or death by 10 times or more.

If you or anyone you love is among the 51.4% of the United States that isn’t yet fully vaccinated and you’re able to change that, please consider doing so!