Florida’s COVID-19 numbers have been decreasing in the last month. | Adobe Stock
Florida’s COVID-19 numbers have been decreasing in the last month. | Adobe Stock
A University of South Florida virologist said that the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Sunshine State have dropped, with more people becoming protected against the virus.
Dr. Michael Teng, a virologist at USF Health, told ABC Action News that natural immunity works just as well as the vaccine.
"Vaccination is obviously the easiest and safest and most effective way of getting immunization, but getting naturally infected also makes somebody immune," Teng said. "It's the last mile that's the hardest. So, we really need to push forward through that last mile."
New daily cases plummeted 40% compared to two weeks ago, while hospitalized have declined 56% in the last month, ABC Action News reported.
These drastic changes dropped Florida from the No. 1 leading state in new cases to the 30th highest. These changes are mainly attributed to increased immunization coupled with those who had coronavirus, ABC Action News reported.
Teng said that it's not just the U.S. that needs to increase its vaccination figures, but the rest of the world needs to as well.
"All the variants that we've gotten that have caused these large waves of infection have come from somewhere else," Teng told ABC Action News. Right, the D614G came from Europe, alpha came from the U.K., delta came from India, so it's not just about vaccinating us, it's about making sure that everybody's vaccinated."
Alerts Sign-up