For February’s first 10 days, the Florida Department of Health reported Escambia County’s positivity rate dropped to 9.38% – its lowest rate since the end of November. The county had 1303 new cases based on 13,866 reported tests – the fewest tests over a 10-day period since Dec. 1-10.
Unfortunately, Escambia County has had 65 deaths reported since Jan. 31. Had the COVID vaccine been rolled out in December or November, how many of those deaths could have been avoided?
The minority community is lagging behind their white neighbors when it comes to having gotten both doses of the vaccine, particularly when compared to death percentages. Â The Black community comprises 28% of all COVID deaths in Escambia County and accounts for less than 7% of the completed vaccinations.
| Both Doses | Deaths | ||
| White | 9004 | 64.2% | 63% |
| Black | 964 | 6.9% | 28% |
| Am. Indian | 48 | 0.3% | 0% |
| Other | 2166 | 15.4% | 7% |
| Unknown | 1838 | 13.1% | 2% |
| Total | 14020 | 100.0% | 100% |