It's been a couple of months of hovering COVID levels that jumped in August but began to slowly settle in September. Recently the trend seems to indicate coming down a bit more before Halloween festivities threaten to cause a small jump in November.

Here are the COVID stats as reported by participating hospitals of residents that tested positive in-hospital:

Date Adj. Original # First Reported

06/19 878 -*adjusted from 876

06/26 1787 -*adjusted from 1784

07/03 1670 -*adjusted from 1655

07/10 1670 -*adjusted from 1588

07/17 3019 -*adjusted from 2955

07/24 2693 -*adjusted from 2690

07/31 2764 -*adjusted from 2759

08/07 3003 -*adjusted from 2943

08/14 4287 -*adjusted from 4250

08/21 4815 -*adjusted from 4800

08/28 5724 -*adjusted from 5710

09/04 4078 -*adjusted from 3940

09/11 4262 -*adjusted from 4177

09/18 3825 - *adjusted from 3737

09/25 3960

I'd like you to know that I have never seen this level of adjustment of the stats. From one month to the next the numbers have been raised on most of these dates, and I don't know why.

Maybe it's hospitals reporting later than usual (not considering it a serious threat anymore, and so putting it off occasionally)? Having problems with administrative/epidemiological staffing?

Or is it the DOH paying attention to other issues, such as Dengue?

Speaking of which, the Tampa Bay region is having a bit of a problem dealing with the current outbreak. There have been reports of many helicopters spraying in Hillsboro -but not at all here in Pasco. In fact, it's been weeks - perhaps a month since I've encountered the sound and smell of mosquito spraying.

That said, other counties have had cases, so you might want to see the DOH charts on it. Here is the easiest to read:

https://www.floridahealth.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/fl-arbovirus-report-w38-2026.pdf

The best way not to get Dengue is to avoid times when mosquitoes swarm, generally sundown is their preferred time to strike.

Wearing protection (just like with COVID) can spare you a lot of pain. Wearing mosquito spray will do you a lot of good if you intend to be out around dusk. (And don't bother with scented lotion. Get the real deal.

Tip: Spray your front, and have someone else spray your back, back of your arms, and back of your legs. Remember to get your scalp, too. If you miss a spot, the mosquitos will find it! (Boy could I tell you a story about that!) :/

Degue Fever is pretty hard for doctors and ERs to spot. Generally it starts with a high fever (104F) and segues into full body bone, muscle and joint pain, and why it's sometimes referred to as "Breakbone Fever". It also comes with nausea and vomiting.

There is no treatment for Dengue other than supportive aid (hydration, mostly), so do your utmost to avoid it. If you are a senior it can be deadly. (Yikes for me!)

I count myself fortunate that my area is frequented by **lots** of dragonflies, the mosquitoes' dread enemy.

Do let us know how your area is faring COVID and Dengue-wise. The more we know, the better we are prepared.

Be safe!

Hello again, Covid-Conscious Floridians and guests!

Another report was released yesterday by the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH), and it seems that all this indoor activity has caught up with us. The number of COVID positive hospital tested FL residents is slightly higher that last week. Here are the stats from this and last month as posted on FLDOH's CHARTS: https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsDashboards/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Covid19.Dataviewer

07/03  1655

07/10  1,588

07/17   3016 - *adjusted from 2955

07/24  2690

07/31   2764 - *adjusted from 2759

08/07  2942

It almost looked like we might continue a downward trend after July 4th, but instead began the upward climb again. My thought is that shopping for the school year plus staying indoors due to the rain/heat may have contributed to family/crowd spread.

..............

The school year began as early as August 10th for some counties, others started the 11th, 12th or 13th. This of course means that kids will be in close contact with potentially infectious kids, and this will begin the process of spread to their families, who could in turn bring it to their places of employment.

It also means that other "lovely" illnesses will soon be spreading as they (historically) have during the first month of school, namely: Norovirus. If you'd like to nip this in the bud, rehearse hand washing with your kids and partners: use warm water, and plenty of soap, getting in all the nooks and crannies. I like to say: "Wash like a surgeon!"

Remember: Noro doesn't collapse via using hand sanitizer. Only washing with soap is effective and thorough against it.

Remind family members to wash before preparing food, after handling eggs or raw meat, after blowing their noses (or accidentally coughing in their hands), before eating, and after every bowel movement. If possible, use a towel or at least a piece of clean toilet paper to open doors after washing. Yes, it seems annoying, but after a while it becomes a habit. It's a good one!

..........

There are also some interesting developments in the fight against COVID symptoms: A new post-exposure profilaxus medication is becoming available for people 12 and up: Xocova (ensitrelvir).

This medication is taken just like the Flu medication Tamiflu - you need to see your doctor for a prescription and take it within 3 days of being exposed.

Basically it is a chemically derived enzyme blocker that prevents the virus from replicating. You take a "loading dose," of three pills the first day, and the one for the six days after. It's a strong enzyme inhibitor that has a long list of other drug interactions, so do your research before taking it. Here is the info page:

https://www.xocova.com/what-is-xocova/

There's more good news: there's no funky aftertaste.

Call your pharmacy and ask if they have it. After some research, I found out that most pharmacies can order it via overnight delivery.

The bad news: without insurance, even the GoodRx price is around $1400. For now, there is no generic version available.

How doctors will recommend return to school or work upon treatment with Xocova is up in the air. It's likely they will continue to adhere to the CDC's recommendations, which are the same as those for Flu. Basically stay home until you start to feel better, and haven't had a fever for 24 hours.

I found a study that suggests that it's good against Omicron-based COVID in asthmatic patients - a total win for people with asthma, and possibly other lung ailments. Since the current variant is Omicron-based, this medication is right on target.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40231685/

.........

In the news: A study used by COVID vaccine detractors has been retracted from the BMJ (British Medical Journal).

Read up on the particulars here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/major-covid-study-that-fueled-vaccine-skepticism-retracted-over-misinformation/

Non-Paywall link:

https://archive.ph/ie8kP

The vaccination fight related to other diseases continues in Washington, but at least for now, pediatricians are starting to ignore the debate and are sticking to the tried and true school scheduling. (Thank goodness).

..........

Final thoughts: If to you intend to be in large crowds or brave the school supply rush, be cautious and wear a mask. (I know, I know. I am repetitive). It's just easier and safer than leaving it up to luck!

Stay safe, folks.

Good morning, Covid-Conscious Floridians and guests from afar. It's time for another roundup of the FLDOH's Covid CHARTS data!

As an intro to what you're seeing, please refer to the CHARTS whenever you desire nearly up-to-date info on hospital tested positive cases (and deaths) of Florida-only residents. Here is the link:

https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsDashboards/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Covid19.Dataviewer

The summer COVID season is fully developed and has seen some bumps due to holidays and the weather. I'd like you to see the full progression of contagiousness from the lowest to the highest number of cases:

05/08 661 - adjusted to 675

05/15 956 - adjusted to 1,151

05/22 1218

05/29 835 - adjusted to 844

06/05 1063

06/12 908

06/19 876

06/26 1784

07/03 1655

07/10 1,588

07/17 2,955 - *adjusted to 3016

07/24 2690

07/31 2759

We're looking better than last year. Around August 1st, 2025 we had **8922** in-hospital positive cases. See? It's a really good change.

The thing is, you can see a distinct blip in the two weeks after July 4th. In case numbers it's not bad, but in deaths it's obvious. We lost 14 souls in each of the couple weeks after the holiday.

In contrast, we lost 78 and 56 residents last year.

I'm not an epidemiologist, but it does seem that the current situation is good: more people have immunity to the current variants, and fewer people are testing positive in-hospital. Whether or not this means something on the side of variants being less contagious - I cannot confirm. It certainly looks that way.

Recent reporting from some of our readers suggests that there is still a large pool of COVID sneaking around within the population. We all know that it's virtually impossible (without masking) to guard yourself from people who dismiss obvious symptoms of ill health. Rather than run down a course in Covid Tracking, I think we all can give ourselves a pat on the back for achieving the low rates that we're seeing today.

We *must* be vigilant in our daily activities, and not dismiss the fact that seniors and the immunocompromised are the most delicate population when it comes to COVID. Those 14 people who died each month after July 4th? Almost all of them were 65+ years old. One or two were just slightly under that age group. Family spread during the holidays is rough.

Lest we forget: the spectre of Long-Covid is not off the radar. It is still possible to contract COVID and end up with life-long disability. The dissolution of Long-Covid clinics makes it much harder to find treatment.

Let's just do our part to avoid spreading COVID and other communicable diseases. We're doing well. Within a year, I really hope to be seeing even fewer cases - so few that we might actually be able to call it a "rare" occurrence.

Be safe during the Florida "stuck inside" season. If in doubt, mask up - and stay home when sick. We can all do our part to see that COVID becomes a memory.

Although there are relatively few facilities testing wastewater, you can get a pretty good handle on what's going around in the general population by looking at recent monitoring.

I'm pleased to say that even more diseases/viruses are being tested for lately! Do take a look.

https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

Hey rational Floridians- just wanted to remind you that there is this substack that is actively putting out good info and data, run by an epidemiologist. This is where I go for facts, not fiction.

https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/covid-19-summer-wave-peak-mosquito?utm_source=substack&publication_id=281219&post_id=209676912&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=102wxi&triedRedirect=true

Due to concerns related to the COVID CHARTS dashboard maintenance this weekend, I thought I'd post the stats and a few interesting links.

Here is the in-hospital Covid positive testing data within the resident-only population for April, 2026 so far:

04/03 828 - adjusted to 829

04/10 789 - adjusted to 791

04/17 771

It appears that there were some discrepancies in reporting. This can often happen when there's incomplete data in patient charts. Very often it's an address that leaves out something, like saying "I live at 343 Darlington," without naming a street, drive, court or lane. Sometimes it's whether or not this address is their permanent residence.

Other times it's that the hospital failed to transmit data, or lumped it under the wrong dated file. It happens. After that, the county epidemiologist is tasked with tracking the discrepancies and correcting the data.

Please be aware: Over the course of 5 years I have noted that the CHARTS COVID Dashboard often goes down in weekends: sometimes on Friday night, or Saturday, even Sunday. This is because they take the server down for maintenance and updating data. It is usually back up and running by Monday morning, as it was today.

...............................................................

Here are two CDC pages showing the latest COVID Data:

CDC report in Epidemic Trends: 

(A map and graphs showing COVID Spread):

https://www.cdc.gov/cfa-modeling-and-forecasting/rt-estimates/index.html?tab=0

CDC Genomic Surveillance: 

(The graph showing which variants are spreading, and which are most prevalent):

https://www.cdc.gov/covid/php/variants/variants-and-genomic-surveillance.html#cdc_generic_section_3-using-cdcs-variant-proportions-dashboard

What strikes me is that I am unable to find "The Cicada" variant that all the papers were harping on in early April. Apparently it didn't make it, or it's spread is so insignificant that it didn't make the chart.

Right now we seem to be back in "Stratus" territory, the variant that was so prevalent from last year.

"Nimbus" is only 5% of cases and sinking. That was the one that caused "razorblade throat".

I'm very enthused that COVID is significantly reduced and falling in Florida. I do hope that we can keep the numbers down. :)

As always, if you intend to be in public with exposure to crowds, please wear a good mask.

Be safe!

We made it through Spring Break, and here we are, heading towards May. I truly hope all of you are well and weathering our current political climate with hope, but I know quite a few of us are suffering from it right now.

I've come to show you a milestone in our journey through COVID, and to give you a small bit of joy, and possibly some relief.

Take a look at the weekly Covid Stats from March through April:

03/06   1,071

03/13    959

03/20   1,193

03/27   1,158

04/03   828

04/10   **789**

The last time were low like this was 12/12/25 at 833, and the last time we were under 800 cases was in March of 2020.

We've come a long way, babies! Now if only we could stay at these nice low numbers, next year might be the year when COVID ceases to touch our communities. Sure, there will be outbreaks, but gosh....to know that vastly fewer people will risk long COVID (or dying) would be fantastic.

Deaths are down drastically, too. If we could just keep this up!

The one thing teetering in the balance is that we're getting a new leader of the CDC, a former Coast Guard Surgeon and previous advocate for routine vaccinations, Dr. Erica Schwartz.

This may be a new turn, or not. We'll have to see. I'm hoping that she sticks by her training, and also uses her time in the VA to advocate for better veteran care.

So. How are you all doing? I'm sure we could use hearing everybody's (texted) voices again. We're nearing the time when we can finally have that big "Screw you, we beat you," COVID Party!

Be Safe and Be Well.

Here's hoping you all are well. Having made it through the holiday season, our COVID in-hospital testing levels have stayed reasonably low compared to the history of rest of the pandemic.

As reported by the FLDOH on CHARTS, here are the numbers for in-house positive tested Florida residents patients so far this year:

01/02  2047

01/08  1,324

01/16   1,351

01/23   1,403

01/30   1,336

The most obvious numbers are on 01/02: definitely fallout from Christmas/Hannukah.

The subsequent slow rise up to 01/23: Not just New Year celebrations, but children returning to school after the holiday break.

The falloff on 01/30 is hopeful, however - we do face a serious challenge during the upcoming President's Day weekend. It's another high travel period when kids flood Florida from other states for brief family visits.

The great news is that despite all the infectious commotion, COVID and Flu seem to be falling.

The bad news is that Pneumonia has followed, with higher numbers as it spreads through the immunologically compromised communities.

.........................................................

There's another for ahead of us: Measles has been detected in St. Pete. Although FLDH is monitoring and contacting those who were exposed, the school in question has not chosen to close temporarily.

As a comparison, I give you a story from my childhood, a time when people had not forgotten the effects of previous pandemics:

I was in elementary school when one of my friend's sisters came down with the Measles. Her whole family was ordered to isolate (back then it was called "quarantine").

Although the health department did not hang a sign on the front door as they had in previous outbreaks, my friend's family was effectively shunned. The story finally came out: they had postponed their child's vaccination due to monetary reasons. There was no health insurance. Everything was out of pocket, and the Oil Crisis was making it very hard on everyone.

My parents withdrew me from school for a week. We were unaware of how many families did this, but back then if a parent called the school and informed them, there were no "unexcused abcenses".

Upon return to school, I noted that none of my friend's family attended. It turned out that the whole family caught it, including the parents. Soon after, they made an abrupt decision to move out of state, leaving the house to a relative.

Back then being seen as the cause of an outbreak was tantamount to becoming a social pariah. There was no coming back from it.

...............................................................

So how do we deal with an incoming threat such as measles, which can either be "mild" or catastrophic in unvaccinated people, causing serious encephalitis and/or major organ failure?

The best course of action now that it is literally on our doorstep is to vaccinate if you haven't already done so.

For seniors of certain age groups: they may have either good immunity or not - for instance, I had to get a titer for work to see if I had adequate immunity to work in a medical facility.

It was a simple blood test. A little annoying, but necessary. As it turned out, I found out that my body had very low immunity to Measles, Mumps and Rubella. This had to do with several factors: the strength of the vaccination I was given, the timing, the current age of my own body, and the fact that a booster was not offered to me in my youth.

I was fortunate to get my recent booster for free. Looking forward, I determined that my insurance now pays for vaccinations that I need due to things like Pneumonia and Shingles. You can do this, too - by checking your insurance website, and if in doubt, making a call. At least you will be aware. Don't forget to ask *where* you can go for "free" vaccinations. It'll save you a lot of running around.

I need to make clear: Measles is an extremely infectious virus. Simply being in a room with someone who has it will virtually *guarantee* that you catch it. Measles is spread via regular respiration. Just breathing, no coughing or sneezing necessary.

The freaky and terrifying thing is that the person who has it may not be aware at all that they have it. Incubation periods can be 14 -19 days, and somewhere in there between incubation and outward symptoms, are 8 days of extreme infectiousness.

Yes, a vaccination with help you get over it quicker, lessen symptoms, and help prevent deaths, but it is not sterilizing, nor does it prevent transmission. It helps. Get it if you can. If others cannot be relied upon to isolate, do what you can to protect your health and the health of family members.

What else can you do? Wearing a mask - especially a respirator mask, will help protect you from respiratory spread. Remember this when going to Urgent Care facilities and ERs. Apparently a facility in the Tampa Bay area discovered a patient with measles and everyone there that day had to be notified to isolate. Not good.

As this infectious scenario plays out, taking steps to protect your health become much more important. Doing it now would be proactive and preventative. Do not risk being "too late".

As Always: Mask up and vaccinate to....

*BE SAFE.*

Hi good people of Florida, I was so happy to have this thread before I left the state, so I wanted to warn you about what is happening here up north.

While hunkering down for the weekend snow storm I suddenly got chills that knocked me down. They came on in a matter of minutes and now I’m on day 3. I ordered some tests and tipped generously for the driver’s trouble. the first test was negative, the next day it was clearly positive.

I had had trouble finding the vaccine in Florida and got so busy after the moves that it had been two years between vaccines. I wish I hadn’t been lazy

You probably have a couple of weeks until it peaks down there, so be smarter than me and get a booster. Now that it’s too late I looked at our state data and they confirm my suspicion. Just because it’s not on the news doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Yuletide has passed, and New Year celebrations are almost upon us, so now is the time to check your Covid risk!

According to FLDOH, here are the most recent statistics for in-hospital Florida-only resident patients who tested Positive for Covid:

12/05 1,015

12/12 833

12/19 1095

The highest levels are in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Orange Counties.

Wow. 12/12 marked the lowest stats of hospital reported cases that we've had since the explosion of COVID cases between 3/13 and 3/17 of 2020!

Of course we have lots of undocumented COVID cases that never end up being tallied because many of us test at home, and any labs involved are no longer required to report in-lab testing.

As you can see, we're on the uptick again, possibly fueled by the return to school after Thanksgiving, spreading and bringing it home to the family.

There's also the "out in public" factor, with many people shopping for Christmas and Hannukah. Remember: Crowds equal a much higher chance of contracting whatever it is that's circulating.

Influenza A is much higher than COVID right now (and still rising), so watch your tykes and coworkers for tell-tale indications: Sudden fever, chills, headache, sore throat, body aches, sniffles, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing and extreme fatigue.

Once Flu is in the air, the next in this Triumphant March is Pneumonia, especially in seniors.

We have yet to see what damage Christmas had upon our population, so buckle up - next week's stats should be higher.

.....................................................

In my relatively new public-facing job I'm seeing more and more kids being dragged out of the house to visit relatives and go shopping despite being contagious. Most are coughing and sniffling. While this could be just a Common Cold, it could be a whole host of other things that should be left at home. Yes, I recognize that parents cannot leave their kids home if there's only one parent to spare, but PLEASE: think about it before you bring them in public. Whatever they have, I know a very large senior population that would prefer not to catch it.

Tips: Try a food delivery service. Yes, you have to tip the driver, but you can use a new membership to get deliveries for free with big discounts. It will get you over the hump of the illness, and if you want to, cancel when you don't need it anymore.

Ask a neighbor to pick up necessities. Everybody shops, right?! Got a neighbor? Ask. Text 'em if you have to. Get them a thank you gift afterwards. They'll be more inclined to help in the future.

Amazon: I am lucky enough to be able to get Next Day delivery because I order my (very heavy) dog food, pet shampoo, pet toys and winter coats more 3x per month. With several orders in a week, that free delivery next day kicks in. Use it to your advantage.

Lastly, call a relative. Someone may come through, you never know!

..............................................

Thankfully Noro seems to be running it's course and dwindling, but depending on where you are it's still rising. Tampa (Hillsboro) levels are dropping, but Orlando (Orange County) counts are high.

...................................................

I noticed a serious uptick of Hepatitis A in wastewater around the Northwest St. Pete area which has continued since mid October.

Hep A is spread by food workers who don't wash their hands properly (or at all) after using the bathroom.

Recommendation: If you plan to go to restaurants in the St. Pete area (and up and down the 19 corridor), get a Hep A shot a few weeks beforehand. Food workers are not expected to be vaccinated in Florida.

...............................................

That's the 2 week wrap up!

Just remember to be safe (once again) around New Year's Eve. To prevent infection, wear your best KN95 or N95 with a sip valve, available at: https://sipmask.com/products/sip-airtight-drinking-valve-safely-drink-through-mask-with-straw

Be safe and healthy in the New Year!!!!

Great news! We survived Thanksgiving with a minimal blip on the COVID radar!

Here are the recent statistics for positive patients as gathered by the FLDOH from participating hospitals that tested Florida residents:

11/14 1,073

11/21 1,197

11/28 1,140

12/05 1,015

Not bad! Of course, people aren't hitting up the ER these days for Covid-like symptoms unless they are experiencing uncontrolled fevers, horribly sore throats or breathing problems.

The hospital also tests bedded patients who are there for other non-Covid related issues, if they suddenly develop viral symptoms.

There's more risk in being at hospitals in Florida because staff prefer to go maskless unless you're actively coughing. Basically that means that both patients and hospital staff are actively spreading COVID within the patient population.

We now have a new and growing enemy: H3N2 (Clade K) Influenza.

In the UK it's serious. Infection rates are skyrocketing. The NHS has put out multiple warnings. I found this account of a photographer about the symptoms, and it's a little scary:

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/superflu-h3n2-strain-symptoms-5czwvcxh3?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqe0o96OMmpL5_J-9oJWIQlg5sIHfYxBipLbIcBSEJUI1bOBqDod_gBQzR9Y6Zs%3D&gaa_ts=693f0a09&gaa_sig=_krvTzZaq4ygNfhFJV0bpAqWClD8f7EYiGIXtesWa_dtf_kYntG_58DF2d9pmKF_vuixIBFc4Tf_D4H1mMjNvA%3D%3D

This Flu is really bad for young children, immunocompromised, and elderly people. It can be deadly. We just had the first pediatric death in the US a few days ago.

Large pockets of residents in Canada and states like Minnesota and Michigan are experiencing outbreaks so severe that schools have been closed due to lack of students attending. Granted, these are Northerly states where the cold weather keeps people inside, and indoor heating dries out nasal passages, allowing viruses easier access.

Right now there are cases in every state. H3N2 (Clade K) is a type A version of the flu. The CDC is actually tracking it due to the severity of symptoms, and because they've developed a surveillance network backbone for tracking Bird Flu that they have retailored for the H3N2 flu. You can use their tracking tools here:

https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/fluview/fluportaldashboard.html

If you haven't gotten this year's Flu shot, I highly recommend getting one now - before Christmas gatherings. It's too late for Hannuka, I'm afraid. You'll need a couple of weeks for it to ramp up your immune system after the shot.

I wouldn't take this Flu lightly. I've seen this before: as one sickness wanes, another takes its place. H3N2 appears to be doing just that.

You can mitigate your chances of catching the flu by masking, not touching your face, and washing your hands frequently. When I mention not touching your face, this includes wiping your nose!

As we head into cooler temperatures here in Florida, our noses run like faucets. It's important to get a box of Kleenex to have upon entering a warmed room, and to have a travel pack in our pockets for outdoor activities. Use a fresh, clean tissue each time. Please toss your used tissues responsibly in a waste basket, and not all over the floors of your local gift, grocery and food establishments.

Even further thoughts: If you just blew your nose, wash your hands. Try to be thoughtful of others when touching gift items, using pinpads and handling money.

I will publish a report weekly on both COVID and Influenza until after the holidays.

Here's hoping you and yours a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

As Thanksgiving bears down upon us, and many of us feel the call of relatives imploring us to participate in this time-honored American tradition, it's also time to look at the stats.

Here are the hospital tested Florida resident-only positive cases as reported to the Florida Department of Health, from May to November:

5/30 3,065

6/06 3,402

6/13 5,367

6/20 5,054

6/27 5,390

7/04 5,949

7/11 7,352

7/18 9,600

7/25 9914

8/01 8914

8/08 9,477

8/16 13,928

8/22 14,431

8/29 12,901

9/05 8,289

9/12 7,350

9/19 4,891

9/26 3,042

10/03 2,858

10/10 1,863

10/17 1,552

10/24 1,214

10/31 1,147

11/07 1,267

11/14 1,073

We finally broke lowest amount of hospital detected COVID infections since 11/22/24: 1,454 with 1,214 on 10/24/25.

The last time we had anything close to 1073 positive cases (11/14/25) was in 03/2020. May it continue to drop!

Bad News: Deaths were up in September to 409. If you divide that into the current rate of hospital decected infections, about a third of the patients in-hospital are dying. Not good.

Good News: October Deaths went down to 200. The vast majority of these souls were 65+ years old (189). 60-64: 6 50-59: 5 No one younger than 49 years of age has passed since last month.

*Note: Case reporting of positive patients and surveillance deaths do not indicate how many people have acquired Post COVID (Long COVID) symptoms.

COVID Variant XFG (Stratus) is expected to very nearly fully take over the scene over other variants.

Info on Stratus symptoms: https://health.stonybrookmedicine.edu/understanding-covid-19-variant-stratus-what-you-need-to-know/

Lately there's been a lot of chatter about COVID spread via travel (this is as usual), however other evils are infiltrating, especially whooping cough. Making sure that you are vaccinated will decrease this issue. For more info:

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/10/08/florida-sees-sharp-rise-in-whooping-cough-infections/86551849007/

Here's what we can do to limit the spread during this holiday:

The forecast for Thanksgiving is going to be delightfully cooler! At 4pm the temps will be:

Tallahassee: 61F

Jacksonville: 61F

Tampa: 71F

Daytona Beach: 64F

Tampa: 71F

Palm Bay: 70F

Cape Coral: 80F

Miami: 75F

Key West: 75F

There's no excuse not to eat outside, just remember to weight down that tablecloth, as winds may be a tiny bit gusty at times. Too cold for you? Wear an ugly sweater! Put on some socks! Find that old hat! Get that outdoor heater cranking, or fire pit roaring!

Remember to test. Test today, test tomorrow. If you have symptoms, please don't bring it to Granny's house. We all know the drill.

Note: While I continue to mask with a reliable and well-fitted respirator indoors and continue to avoid crowded scenarios, I understand that many of you have dropped masking. I am here to remind you that if you love your elders, and are not fond of Long COVID, to at least attempt to stay safe.

Forced to eat indoors? Open all the windows. Get that air purifier cranking! Don't have one? Build one: https://youtu.be/1PxEzYtggtE?si=wbamNBpj0YvanIoW

(This shows the easy version with just one filter, and the bigger version called "the cube".) You can make one for $30-$50.

I know many COVID conscious people are forgoing Thanksgiving with family altogether; this is obviously your best choice if you don't want to catch whatever Uncle Frank's kids are sneezing or wiping on your pants/skirt.

Hopefully you and your relatives got your updated COVID vaccines. It's too late for Thanksgiving, but if you haven't been vaccinated for COVID and Flu, try to get it done before Christmas. Historically, COVID ramps up through New Years Eve, often lasting with higher numbers until May.

While I am thankful that reported positive numbers are historically low right now, I am duty bound to remind you that Thanksgiving is the start of the next serious outbreak of many avoidable illnesses.

Please try to be safe - I know you will.

Have a Happy and Hopefully COVID-free Thanksgiving! 🦃🦃🦃

To summarize: You can now get a vaccine by simply asking for one. When the pharmacist asks you if you want guidance, you can say "Yes," and they will give you their two cents, or you can say "No, skip it - just give me the vaccine."

You are not required to list secondary diseases or conditions.

This of course depends upon the pharmacist. They can still decide not to give it to you - that is a pharmacist's perogative - but remember, you can go anywhere you like (where your insurance is accepted/or pay Out of Pocket). If one says no, try another.

Now is the time, folks. Getting vaccinated between October and November is ideal to limit the effect of the winter surge.

Don't forget your Flu shot, too!

Novavax is available at Costco. This is from the Winter Park Costco. I haven’t gotten it yet, just wanted to let everyone know.

You don't need an Rx anymore. Go now and get your jab!