Top Three Takeaways – February 8th, 2021
- Did you know...? Florida’s COVID-19 trend for daily cases is the best it’s been in over two months? That this week is typically the peak week for the traditional flu season? That the one-dose J&J COVID-19 vaccine with an efficacy of 66%-72%, would still be more effective than the best performing flu vaccine (60% in 2010), in recorded history? That Florida remains below the national average in population adjusted cases in COVID-19 (with 28 states ranking ahead of us)? Anyway, the point is there’s room for optimism going forward. If the virus continues to track along the trend of the traditional flu, which it’s essentially replaced this year, there’s a really good chance the peak of the pandemic has already happened in Florida and at worst will happen this week in other states which aren’t performing as well as we are. Especially when you consider the continued vaccination effort in which all vaccinations, including those not yet FDA approved, are more effective than the traditional flu vaccine.
- 53%. That’s the average percentage of Americans who obtain a flu vaccine. According to the Florida Department of Health, 68% of Floridians eligible for a COVID vaccine who want one. Should this hold we’re seeing substantially more Floridians who usually don’t get a flu vaccine opting for COVID-19 vaccine. That’s another reason for additional optimism should the efficacy of the vaccines hold. One related note, I continue to see figures regarding the percentage of Florida’s population that’s been immunized. That’s a poor way of viewing this for two reasons. First, all health experts are guessing in the wind when it comes to a percentage of the population which needs to be immunized for a herd immunity type of benefit to be achieved. Second, the most important consideration is for those who want to be immunized. Let’s say 68% of Floridians want to be immunized. That leaves 14.75 million who need to be immunized. Through Friday, 9% of those wanting a vaccine had received a first dose, with 4% having completed the two-dose schedule.
- Florida man. The stories are generally funny, but our state is nothing to laugh at. According to the Tax Foundation Florida’s total tax burden is 20% lower than the national average. According to US News and World Report our state’s fiscal management is the 2nd best in the country. We have, even during the pandemic, a better than average economy, lower than average restrictions and below average COVID cases. And of course, our weather is amazing. Miami hosted the Super Bowl last year, Tampa this year every time we have another migration report we’re finding out we’re the most desirable state in the country. We shouldn’t take any of that for granted. It’s easy to do. And Florida man is far more sophisticated than he’s given credit for in context.
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