Franklin County COVID positivity rate now above 31 percent - in Gulf County it is nearly 28 percent

Franklin and Gulf COVID – 19 Update – 08/06/2021

 

1. The best defense against COVID-19 is the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control. The vaccine helps protect you and the health of the broader community.  If you still get COVID-19, the vaccine has been proven to reduce the severity of illness, hospitalization, and death. The vast majority of cases in Franklin and Gulf Counties are unvaccinated individuals.

 

2. Scientists continue to study how changes to the virus might affect how it spreads and just how sick people will get from it. Some variations allow the virus to spread more easily and might cause illness in some people even after they are fully vaccinated. Those variants must be monitored more carefully by scientists. If you still get COVID-19, evidence shows that the vaccine can reduce the severity of illness, hospitalization, and death.

 

3. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revised the emergency use authorization for REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody therapy authorizing it for emergency use as post-exposure treatment for COVID-19. REGEN-COV is not authorized to prevent COVID-19 -- only after exposure to the virus. Treatment with REGEN-COV is not a substitute for vaccination against COVID-19. People should talk to their health care provider about whether the use of REGEN-COV for post-exposure prophylaxis is appropriate for them. To find out more, go to https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/

What is going on with cases in our counties?  Let’s look at July 2021 data:

The Florida Weekly COVID-19 data report can be found at the link: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/.

 

Gulf:

Week	Positive	Total tested	Percent positive*
7/2/2021	22	94	23.40%
7/9/2021	46	193	23.83%
7/16/2021	76	332	22.89%
7/23/2021	128	449	28.51%
7/30/2021	156	564	27.66%

 

Franklin:

Week	Positive	Total tested	Percent positive*
7/2/2021	3	47	6.38%
7/9/2021	15	76	19.74%
7/16/2021	26	133	19.55%
7/23/2021	73	250	29.20%
7/30/2021	111	356	31.18%

 

*How to understand percent positivity for new resident cases: residents who test positive divided by all residents tested during a time period.

 

The vast majority of positive cases in both counties are unvaccinated individuals, between 15-50 years.

 

How well are Franklin and Gulf doing with vaccination efforts?

Franklin: 45% (Franklin population babies and up: 12,295 | Age 12 & older with vaccine: 4,957)

Gulf: 44% (Gulf population babies and up: 14,829| Age 12 & older with vaccine: 5,782)

State: 63%

 

Looking for a COVID-19 vaccine in Franklin or Gulf? Your Healthcare system has you covered.

Your local Department of Health (DOH) and other medical providers continue to offer the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost. If you would like to schedule with the health department, please call DOH-Franklin at (850)653-2111 or DOH-Gulf at (850)227-1276. COVID-19 vaccines are also available through Weems Memorial Hospital, PanCare of Florida, Inc., North Florida Medical Center and local pharmacy locations, including CVS and Buyrite.

 

For Franklin County updates straight to your phone: text FranklinCV19 to 888777.

For Gulf County updates straight to your phone text GULFCOVID to 888777.

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