* According to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, the U.S. has now surpassed 900,000 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.
* 76 percent: Total U.S. population that is at least partially vaccinated.
* The flu: It’s back—with its normal pre-pandemic pattern. Health officials attribute it to an increasingly lax approach to COVID control measures.
*Starting in early spring, the (64 million) people on Medicare will be able to get free COVID rapid tests from designated pharmacies.
* According to the CDC, wearing N95 and KN95 masks cuts the odds of infection by 83 percent. Wearing a cloth mask appears to lower the odds by 56 percent.
* The Florida positivity rate: 18 percent. It was 23.5 percent the previous week.
* Tampa Bay weekly hospitalizations: 2,789, a 10 percent decrease from the week before.