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Florida’s classrooms were the safest place for grade school children during the 2020-2021 school year. My analysis of Florida’s final reporting of COVID-19 cases involving those attending K-12 schools during the school year revealed 3.7% of students attending classroom education during the year contracted COVID-19, compared to 5.4% of those who didn’t.
On a related note, the University of South Florida has identified minors are the leading cause of Florida’s summer surge in cases. According to the University of South Florida, cases have risen by 84% among those 12-18 and 87% among those under 12.
New reporting from the CDC revealed the average life expectancy dropped to 77 last year driven by the pandemic. It also revealed that Florida's was due to overdose-related causes and reached record levels last year. A total of 7,500 overdose deaths were documented statewide. That's an increase of 37%. The most common drug detected in overdose deaths was fentanyl.
Lastly, Florida’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research updated Florida’s economic projections on Tuesday. The news continued to be good for Florida. Florida’s growth rate is expected to be 1.9% this year compared to 1.6% nationally.