Florida has surpassed 50,000 COVID deaths since the start of the pandemic, making its ranking as the 11th worst state for per-capita deaths in the U.S.

One in every 400 Florida residents who were alive when the COVID-19 pandemic began has now died of the disease.

“It has been a really tough year and a half. It is affecting families in ways that we are not used to, so it has been really, really rough,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who recently spoke at a Fort Lauderdale news conference.

DeSantis, who promoted the use of monoclonal antibodies at the news conference, has been outspoken against mask and vaccine mandates.

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Nonetheless, Florida’s vaccination rate is above the national average. However, the transmission of the delta variant has made matters worse for the Sunshine State.

The state has a high population of elderly residents and many young people are still refusing to get vaccinated.

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