COVID Bits

* President Biden announced U.S. plans to provide states with enough vaccine doses for 300 million Americans by the end of summer.

* To date, there is limited evidence of changes in disease severity from coronavirus variants. The exception, based on preliminary evidence, is the UK variant, which could be roughly 30 percent more lethal.

* According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy shrank 3.5 percent last year.

* Vaccination side effects are more likely with a second dose than a first.

* “(The vaccines) work spectacularly well, and none of the side effects are serious. From a public health point of view, it’s definitely worth it.”–Dr. Kami Kin, director of infectious diseases and internal medicine at the USF Medical School.

* To help prevent a Superspreader Bowl, masks are required—both by the city and the NFL–at all the Super Bowl events downtown.

* “The police department’s (Super Bowl) role is we’re going to be educating and reminding. We don’t want to be the mask police, so to speak. We will if we have to.”–Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan.

* According to the Florida Department of Health, vaccine spoilage amounts to approximately 0.2 percent of the number of vaccines that have been given to Floridians. The actual number: about 3,300 doses.

* White Floridians are about 2.5 times more likely to have received at least one vaccine dose as black residents. Non-Hispanic residents are nearly twice as likely as Hispanic people to have secured doses.

* More than a month into the vaccination effort, Florida has reportedly administered at least one dose to approximately 6.8 percent of its population. That ranks 10th highest per capita.

* As of Monday, 1.7 million people in Florida have been vaccinated.

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