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News about coronavirus in Florida and around the world is constantly emerging. It's hard to stay on top of it all but Health News Florida can help. Our responsibility is to keep you informed, and to help discern what’s important for your family as you make what could be life-saving decisions.

3% of Florida kids ages 5-11 received a COVID vaccine, weekly report shows

The White House said about 900,000 children nationwide aged 5-11 have received their first dose since the Pfizer vaccine was cleared by regulators earlier this month.

More than 50,000 children aged 5-11 in Florida have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the first state data released on this age group since the Pfizer vaccine was approved for them earlier this month.

A total of 3% of the 1,688,211 newly eligible children in Florida were vaccinated against coronavirus in the past week, according Friday’s report from the Florida Department of Health.

That aligns with the nationwide trend of 900,000 of the nation's 28 million children in this age group getting a vaccine so far, the White House said Wednesday.

The COVID-19 vaccine’s availability for a wider swath of the population has also lowered the total proportion of eligible Floridians vaccinated — from 73% previously to 67% now.

The highest vaccination rate statewide is 88% among those 65 and older.

Meanwhile, the state’s positivity rate for new cases dropped to 2.5% for the week ending Thursday.

The cumulative death toll from COVID-19 in Florida rose to 60,697.

The following is a summary from Nov. 5-11, 2021.

Cases: 3,668,077 positive cases, an increase of 10,746 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 14,043,681 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 109,459. In all, 67% of Florida’s population over the age of 5 has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 2.5%, down from 2.6% the previous week.

Deaths: A total of 60,697 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 363 from the previous week.

(NOTE: Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.)

ABOUT THE DATA: As of June 4, 2021, the Florida Department of Health no longer offers daily updates on coronavirus data, and instead issues a county-by-county and statewide weekly breakdown on about COVID-19 cases, deaths, and other information. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.

Copyright 2021 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7

Kerry Sheridan is a reporter and co-host of All Things Considered at WUSF Public Media.