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Florida Surpasses 50,000 COVID-19 Deaths

YONKERS, NY - APRIL 06: Medics wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), intubate a gravely ill patient with COVID-19 symptoms at his home on April 06, 2020 in Yonkers, New York. The man, 92, was barely breathing when they arrived, and they performed a rapid sequence intubation (RSI), on him before transporting him by ambulance to St. John's Riverside Hospital. The medics (L-R) are Capt. AJ Briones (paramedic), Michelle Melo (EMT), Carlos Cabrera (EMT). The Empress EMS employees treat and transport patients to hospitals throughout Westchester County and parts of New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. (Image: Getty)

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.

Elizabeth Letsou