By Ryan Yousefi

Many more Floridians will soon be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state would lower the age of eligibility to 60 and older, effective Monday, March 15.

According to Gov DeSantis, demand for the vaccines among seniors age 65 and older has begun to decrease, saying it’s time to begin offering the vaccine to younger people. He said Florida would continue with an age-based approach to eligibility because older people remain more vulnerable to COVID-19.

COVID-19 Data

Data released by the Florida Department of Health on March 7 report there were 63,767 COVID-19 tests conducted. Out of those, 6,043 came back positive. Of the positive test results, 3,494 found out they had tested positive for the first time.

Not only has testing and cases declined compared to previous weeks, but the first-time positivity rate has also declined to 5.95-percent, a steady decrease compared to the numbers reported last week and months before the peak of the pandemic.

Tamarac has reported 5,315 total positive COVID-19 cases — an increase of 32 positive cases since March 5.

Statewide in Florida, there have been 1,948,307 positive cases to date. The average age to contract the virus in Broward County on March 7 was 39-years-old. For months, the average Floridian to test positive has hovered between 39 and 42-years-old.

Since the pandemic began, 81,015 Floridians have been hospitalized due to complications of COVID-19, and 31,764 have died. Of the total deaths, 2,477 were from Broward County.

Vaccinations

As of March 7, 5,364,834 or 16.81 percent of Floridians have received at least one vaccination dose.

Florida has fully vaccinated 9.24-percent of its population. Broward County has a population of 1.9 million residents as of 2019, and 467,181 doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 170,322 people now fully vaccinated.

Broward County Total Cases

Fort Lauderdale 42,501

Hollywood 37,987

Pompano Beach 19,100

Miramar 12,939

Coral Springs 11,319

Davie 8,619

Sunrise 7,770

Plantation 6,748

Weston 6,165

Deerfield Beach 5,738

Tamarac 5,315

Coconut Creek 4,844

Margate 4,764

Hallandale 3,745

Pembroke Pines 3,753

North Lauderdale 3,290

Oakland Park 2,656

Cooper City 2,672

Parkland 2,238

Dania 1,381

Lauderhill 986

Wilton Manors 924

Lauderdale Lakes 825

Southwest Ranches 671

State of Florida

Miami, Dade 240,479
Orlando, Orange 84,922
Jacksonville, Duval 83,026
Tampa, Hillsborough 65,924
Hialeah, Dade 58,740
Fort Lauderdale, Broward 42,501
Hollywood, Broward 37,987
West Palm Beach, Palm Beach 29,735
Kissimmee, Osceola 28,517
Tallahassee, Leon 27,677
Pensacola, Escambia 25,468
Homestead, Dade 25,155
Naples, Collier 25,066
Saint Petersburg, Pinellas 24,340
Fort Myers, Lee 22,326
Bradenton, Manatee 20,867
Ocala, Marion 20,640
Boca Raton, Palm Beach 20,441
Lakeland, Polk 20,138
Pompano Beach, Broward 19,100
Gainesville, Alachua 17,780
Sarasota, Sarasota 16,210
Port Saint Lucie, St. Lucie 14,866
Lake Worth, Palm Beach 14,766
Cape Coral, Lee 14,466
Clearwater, Pinellas 13,046
Miami Beach, Dade 12,985
Miramar, Broward 12,939
Boynton Beach, Palm Beach 11,736
Panama City, Bay 11,647
Doral, Dade 11,426
Coral Springs, Broward 11,319
Miami Gardens, Dade 10,996
Saint Augustine, St. Johns 10,776
Melbourne, Brevard 9,934
Winter Haven, Polk 9,743
Delray Beach, Palm Beach 9,163
Lehigh Acres, Lee 8,918
Davie, Broward 8,619
Riverview, Hillsborough 8,575
Vero Beach, Indian River 8,535
Milton, Santa Rosa 8,267
Palm Bay, Brevard 7,902
New Port Richey, Pasco 7,804
Sunrise, Broward 7,770
Fort Pierce, St. Lucie 7,508
Coral Gables, Dade 7,321
Saint Cloud, Osceola 7,317
Largo, Pinellas 7,259
Daytona Beach, Volusia 7,070
Apopka, Orange 7,069
Lake City, Columbia 7,003
Spring Hill, Hernando 6,894
Orange Park, Clay 6,872
Plantation, Broward 6,748
North Miami Beach, Dade 6,660
Clermont, Lake 6,602
Davenport, Polk 6,551
Brandon, Hillsborough 6,416
Jupiter, Palm Beach 6,229
Weston, Broward 6,165
Plant City, Hillsborough 6,129
Sanford, Seminole 6,124
Deltona, Volusia 6,049
Deerfield Beach, Broward 5,738
Winter Garden, Orange 5,651
Tamarac, Broward 5,315
Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa 5,309
Port Charlotte, Charlotte 5,253
Palm Coast, Flagler 5,108
Crestview, Okaloosa 5,073
Stuart, Martin 5,033
Wesley Chapel, Pasco 4,950
Coconut Creek, Broward 4,844
Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach 4,806
Margate, Broward 4,764
Land O Lakes, Pasco 4,755
Winter Park, Orange 4,686
Deland, Volusia 4,667
Palmetto, Manatee 4,658
Palm Harbor, Pinellas 4,627
Wellington, Palm Beach 4,563
Oviedo, Seminole 4,524
Miami Lakes, Dade 4,362
Opa Locka, Dade 4,263
Altamonte Springs, Seminole 4,229
Lutz, Hillsborough 4,127
Middleburg, Clay 4,118
Port Orange, Volusia 4,082
Haines City, Polk 4,063
Brooksville, Hernando 4,034
Live Oak, Suwannee 3,981
Valrico, Hillsborough 3,959
Venice, Sarasota 3,958
North Port, Sarasota 3,947
The Villages, Sumter 3,902
Sebring, Highlands 3,896
Ocoee, Orange 3,893
Leesburg, Lake 3,880
Hallandale, Broward 3,877
Punta Gorda, Charlotte 3,874
Pembroke Pines, Broward 3,779
Arcadia, Desoto 3,753
Saint Johns, St. Johns 3,746
Seminole, Pinellas 3,629
Bonita Springs, Lee 3,626
Ormond Beach, Volusia 3,598
Zephyrhills, Pasco 3,579
Navarre, Santa Rosa 3,562
Okeechobee, Okeechobee 3,548
Windermere, Orange 3,347
Pinellas Park, Pinellas 3,345
Immokalee, Collier 3,326
Longwood, Seminole 3,290
North Lauderdale, Broward 3,290
North Miami, Dade 3,265
Gulf Breeze, Santa Rosa 3,229
Ruskin, Hillsborough 3,219
Cocoa, Brevard 3,183
Niceville, Okaloosa 3,162
Cantonment, Escambia 3,078
Panama City Beach, Bay 2,987
Jacksonville Beach, Duval 2,927
Quincy, Gadsden 2,915
Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach 2,911
Key West, Monroe 2,892
Crawfordville, Wakulla 2,853
Casselberry, Seminole 2,831
Hudson, Pasco 2,771
Dade City, Pasco 2,758
Port Richey, Pasco 2,755
Cutler Ridge, Dade 2,754
Palatka, Putnam 2,730
Bartow, Polk 2,726
Titusville, Brevard 2,710
Fernandina Beach, Nassau 2,686
North Fort Myers, Lee 2,666
Oakland Park, Broward 2,656
Green Cove Springs, Clay 2,630
Lake Mary, Seminole 2,577
Winter Springs, Seminole 2,574
Kissimmee, Polk 2,556
Auburndale, Polk 2,533
Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Johns 2,516
Aventura, Dade 2,510
Perry, Taylor 2,492
Lake Wales, Polk 2,479
Merritt Island, Brevard 2,471
Lynn Haven, Bay 2,427
Tarpon Springs, Pinellas 2,410
New Smyrna Beach, Volusia 2,409
Marianna, Jackson 2,360
Inverness, Citrus 2,342
Belle Glade, Palm Beach 2,309
Clewiston, Hendry 2,273
Parkland, Broward 2,238
Fleming Island, Clay 2,234
Eustis, Lake 2,226
Santa Rosa Beach, Walton 2,212
Cooper City, Broward 2,188
Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach 2,188
Wimauma, Hillsborough 2,179
Dunedin, Pinellas 2,166
Estero, Lee 2,139
Loxahatchee, Palm Beach 2,132
Holiday, Pasco 2,080
Defuniak Springs, Walton 2,044
Chipley, Washington 2,035
Sarasota, Manatee 1,977
Key Biscayne, Dade 1,972
Rockledge, Brevard 1,968
Destin, Okaloosa 1,942
Parrish, Manatee 1,940
Starke, Bradford 1,927
Labelle, Hendry 1,923
Mount Dora, Lake 1,901
Palm City, Martin 1,898
Odessa, Hillsborough 1,877
Avon Park, Highlands 1,875
Mulberry, Polk 1,870
Riviera Beach, Palm Beach 1,855
Tavares, Lake 1,832
Seffner, Hillsborough 1,775
Summerfield, Marion 1,751
Yulee, Nassau 1,749
Groveland, Lake 1,700
Pinecrest, Dade 1,672
Wauchula, Hardee 1,637
Lithia, Hillsborough 1,629
Maitland, Orange 1,619
Macclenny, Baker 1,615
Missing, Dade 1,609
Orange City, Volusia 1,586
Sebastian, Indian River 1,572
Mayo, Lafayette 1,566
Callahan, Nassau 1,561
Coconut Grove, Dade 1,548
Bonifay, Holmes 1,548
Ponte Vedra, St. Johns 1,526
Carol City, Dade 1,526
Palmetto Bay, Dade 1,512
Homosassa, Citrus 1,510
Lady Lake, Lake 1,507
Crossings, Dade 1,477
Crystal River, Citrus 1,473
Dania, Broward 1,424
Pace, Santa Rosa 1,374
Lake Placid, Highlands 1,373
Lake Butler, Union 1,355
Gibsonton, Hillsborough 1,350
Oldsmar, Pinellas 1,329
Sun City Center, Hillsborough 1,327
Florida City, Dade 1,325
Madison, Madison 1,318
Dover, Hillsborough 1,315
Atlantic Beach, Duval 1,314
Hobe Sound, Martin 1,296
Biscayne Park, Dade 1,274
Monticello, Jefferson 1,270
Dunnellon, Marion 1,268
Apollo Beach, Hillsborough 1,267
Edgewater, Volusia 1,262
Palm Springs, Palm Beach 1,261
Alachua, Alachua 1,242
Debary, Volusia 1,230
Indiantown, Martin 1,228
Graceville, Jackson 1,215
Belleview, Marion 1,215
North Palm Beach, Palm Beach 1,178
Century, Escambia 1,164
Lantana, Palm Beach 1,159
South Miami, Dade 1,124
Newberry, Alachua 1,120
Lecanto, Citrus 1,094
Havana, Gadsden 1,076
Ellenton, Manatee 1,066

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Author Profile

Ryan Yousefi

Ryan Yousefi has lived in Coral Springs for over 30 years. He has worked as a writer for multiples outlets over the years, including the Miami New Times where he has covered sports and culture since 2013. He holds a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Business Healthcare Management from Western Governors University.