The percentage of positive coronavirus cases in Hillsborough County ticked up this week from 2.5% to 2.8%. It’s at 2.2% in Pinellas for the period that ended last Thursday.
Republican and Democratic states
An analysis of health data has found that Florida’s politics have impacted COVID cases tremendously.
According to Axios Tampa Bay, COVID is killing more residents per 100,000 in states run by Republicans than in those led by Democrats.
COVID-19 data
For example, Florida and Georgia’s COVID numbers were much higher than states with a more highly-vaccinated population like New York and New Jersey.
Despite Florida and New York’s similar populations, Florida had triple the number of COVID deaths between August and December of 2021.
Steven Woolf, Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, recently argued that state politics on issues like vaccinations and masking affect the population’s health.
