COVID-19 Dashboard

COVID-19 in Florida: A Disparities Dashboard

The updated Florida Health Justice Project’s (FHJP) COVID-19 Disparities Dashboard presents COVID-19 data in accordance with the Florida Department of Health’s (FDOH) transition from daily to weekly COVID-19 data reporting in June 2021 (Florida Will No Longer Release Daily COVID-19 Numbers, Moves to Weekly Reports). The FHJP COVID-19 Disparities Dashboard presents COVID-19 data stratified by state/county level. This dashboard also presents state-level data further stratified by race/ethnicity and age groups.

County level data includes cumulative vaccination and case positivity rates, as well as the number of cases per 100,000 population. In addition to the aforementioned, state level data includes the number of deaths per 100,000 population further stratified by race/ethnicity and age groups.
Observed county-level disparities are likely due to a confluence of factors, such as the demographic and socio-economic makeup of the county (e.g., age distribution, poverty rate, uninsurance rate), among others. Observed racial/ethnic and age disparities may be influenced by individual risk factors (e.g. co-morbidities, medication use such as immunosuppressants and being of older age), among others. However, it is also important to acknowledge the significant impact of the social and economic environment on the observed racial/ethnic disparities (e.g., the higher prevalence of minorities in high-exposure occupations, multi-generational housing, access to care barriers), among others (Please consider reading, “The State of COVID-19 in Florida and South Florida: An Early Look at Disparities in Outcomes”).

There are limitations in the data presented. The data available does not present a complete picture of the disparities that may exist on a more granular level (i.e. at the county level) since county-level data stratified by race/ethnicity and age is no longer available in the new FDOH weekly reports. Also, COVID-19 hospitalization data is no longer available. As such, the measure of severe COVID-19 illness is solely reliant on mortality data which may present an incomplete account of COVID-19 severity given the known time lag between the report of cases and death. As the number of COVID-19 cases rise without similar increases in the number of deaths, the time lag between reported cases and deaths may offer a false sense of security. Hospitalization data is also no longer available in FDOH COVID-19 weekly situation reports. As a measure of disease severity, hospitalization data may offer timely insight pertaining to COVID-19 disease severity. Hospitalization data may also offer critical insight pertaining to the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare system capacity and changes in disease severity; offering insight into the possible trajectory of COVID-19 deaths in light of the time lag associated with reported deaths.

October COVID-19 Data Update: Overall, trend data for the October 2021 update (spanning the period of October 8 to November 11) shows a steady decrease in the number of cases per 100,000 population on the county level. However, Miami-Dade county saw a slight increase in the number of cases per 100,000 population during the week of November 5th. When examining the number of cases by race/ethnicity- most race/ethnicity groups also saw a steady decrease in the number of cases per 100,000 population, except for Hispanic Blacks who saw a slight increase in the number of cases per 100,000 population during the week of November 5th.

On the contrary, there continues to be a small but steady increase in the number of deaths per 100,000 population for all race/ethnicity groups and among individuals 16 years and older. Blacks and seniors (65 years and older) continue to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 deaths.

COVID-19 State/County Level Data: Compared to Miami-Dade(M-D) and Orange (O) counties, Duval (D) county continues to have the lowest vaccination rate of all three counties under examination (D: 58%; O: 69%; M-D: 87%).

COVID-19 State Level Data by Race/Ethnicity: Blacks (regardless of ethnicity group) have the lowest vaccination rate (30% for NH Blacks and 32% for Hispanic Blacks). However, all race/ethnicity groups saw an increase in vaccination rates since the last update (NH White: 39% to 43%; NH Black: 27% to 30%; Hispanic White: 39% to 44%; Hispanic Black: 28% to 32%) with Hispanic Whites seeing the largest percentage increase.

COVID-19 State Level Data by Age: Since the last update, there was an emergency use approval for the inoculation of children aged 5 to 11 years old with a low-dose Pfizer-BioNTech. Since then, 3% of the newly eligible population (i.e. children 5 to 11 years old) have received at least one dose of vaccine. Seniors (65 years and older) continue to have the highest vaccination rate compared to all other age groups.

To scroll through county-level charts, click on the arrow at the right edge of the first graph.

Updated FHJP COVID-19 Disparities Dashboard by Dr. Shenae Samuels-Staple

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