The Florida Hospital Association (FHA) declared the COVID delta variant surge is over in Florida and daily hospitalization counts are no longer needed. Mary Mayhew, President and CEO of the FHA, said the availability of treatments has helped lessen the impact of the variant and she maintained getting vaccinated is still the best way to combat COVID.
“While COVID-19 remains a concern, the summer Delta surge in Florida is over. Our state’s recovery would not have been possible without the tremendous work of our doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who worked around the clock. We would also like to recognize Governor Ron DeSantis for making monoclonal antibody treatments available to reduce the severity of the illness, keeping thousands of additional COVID-19 patients out of the hospital, and ultimately saving lives. While the worst of the delta surge is behind us, getting vaccinated remains the best protection against serious illness, possible hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.”
The FHA’s numbers used in determining the severity of the delta variant stemmed from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the data indicated Florida’s peak hospitalization numbers reached as high as 17,000 patients. Florida is currently sitting at just over 2,000 confirmed COVID hospitalizations.
As of Friday, the seven-day change in COVID hospitalizations is down 23.4 percent and the percentage of inpatients with COVID is 5.6 percent.
Over the course of the last couple months, Mayhew has expressed careful optimism over the COVID trends in Florida after the delta peak. In early September, Mayhew said the development of the monoclonal antibody treatments has contributed to the decrease in hospitalizations.
“Gov. DeSantis has set up 21 sites around the state. Over 40,000 individuals have received treatment over the last several weeks. That is absolutely contributing,” Mayhew said.
On Twitter, the FHA tweeted out and declared “The summer Delta surge in Florida is over.”
The Summer Delta Surge in Florida is Over.
Read the news release at https://t.co/h7xAfLqqyJ. https://t.co/yWLSAS4SSZ
— Florida Hospital Association (@FLHospitalAssn) October 22, 2021
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
