ORLANDO, Fla. – On Saturday, the FDA cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.
Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways.
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The FDA said J&J’s vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents — protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading.
J&J initially is providing a few million doses and shipments to states could begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer.
To read more about the new vaccine that may be coming to a site near you, click or tap here.
Find the state-run COVID-19 dashboard below:
Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on Feb. 28.
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 5,425 new cases on Sunday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,909,221 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.
Deaths
Florida reported 126 new virus-related deaths Sunday, raising the death toll to 31,406. This number includes the 554 non-residents who died in Florida.
Hospitalizations
As of Sunday afternoon, there were currently 3,679 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Since March, 79,344 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 102 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Sunday.
Positivity rate
The percent of positive results was 6.4% Saturday. Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.
Vaccinations
The Florida Department of Health began releasing a daily report in December on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.
As of Sunday afternoon, 3,017,661 people have received at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The FDOH also reports that 1,680,230 people have received their second shot.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Seminole County expands vaccination effort as Florida health officials report 5,000 new COVID-19 cases]
See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:
| County | Cases | New cases | Hospitalizations | New hospitalizations | Deaths | New deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 33,990 | 105 | 2,004 | 0 | 746 | 5 |
| Flagler | 5,965 | 39 | 330 | 2 | 92 | 3 |
| Lake | 24,611 | 73 | 1,263 | 0 | 559 | 4 |
| Marion | 27,628 | 56 | 1,725 | -1 | 791 | 7 |
| Orange | 114,322 | 312 | 2,382 | 0 | 1,094 | 3 |
| Osceola | 36,802 | 89 | 1,279 | 3 | 444 | 3 |
| Polk | 57,096 | 142 | 4,380 | 5 | 1,139 | 0 |
| Seminole | 27,237 | 68 | 1,122 | 1 | 423 | 0 |
| Sumter | 8,017 | 27 | 507 | 0 | 238 | 0 |
| Volusia | 34,546 | 92 | 1,730 | 1 | 655 | 1 |
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