At the height of Florida’s summer COVID-19 surge, there were more than 2,000 people hospitalized with the novel illness in the epicenter of Miami-Dade County.
Now, with 1.2 million people in the county fully vaccinated, that number has dropped to below 300 for the first time since mid-October.
The plummet comes as hospital COVID units are emptying out across the state, where fewer than 1,800 people are being treated for the disease statewide, compared to the late July height of about 9,500.
In South Florida, hospital leaders are attributing the patient plunge to the efficacy of the three federally authorized vaccines.
About 60% of Floridians 25 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. That percentage jumps to 66% for the 35-and-older bracket, and 70% for those 45 and older.
Read more of this story at our news partner, The Miami Herald
