The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have not declined even after introducing the vaccination. The main reason appears to be the emergence of new mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants and the lack of social distancing in some cities. My city’s, Fort Lauderdale, Fl, COVID local risk index is nine out of ten, considering the national average of 5.5 (City Health Dashboard [CHD], 2021). Although some districts have low-risk indices of two and three, most areas are still in the increased risk group (CHD, 2021). Fort Lauderdale is in a state of emergency in terms of the COVID-19, and the city has overall elevated scores for non-communicable diseases.
Fort Lauderdale is the city on the southeastern coast of Florida where people have a slightly higher number of deaths from cancers and an increased incidence of some chronic illnesses. For example, the city has 31.3 breast cancer death per 100,000 women and 21.4 colon cancer deaths per 100,000 people, while the national averages are 24.4 and 16.1, respectively (CHD, 2021). The incidence of diabetes and hypertension is also more prominent in Fort Lauderdale than the mean value across other cities (CHD, 2021). Overall, these numbers probably explain the lower life expectancy in this city compared to the average in the U.S.
The COVID situation in Fort Lauderdale appears to be severe because of the high local risk index. Indeed, the city’s average value is nine out of ten, indicating an excessive risk associated with coronavirus infection (CHD, 2021). The risk index was calculated based on social and economic factors of the local population (CHD, 2021). These factors include quality of living, overcrowded households, income, and comorbidities (Lieberman-Cribbin et al., 2021). Individuals’ poor health and low socioeconomic status appear to be the most significant contributor to the high COVID risk indices.
In summary, Fort Lauderdale is a city in Florida with a significantly high COVID-19 risk index. Moreover, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension is higher than in other cities, and the death rate from breast and colorectal cancers also increases in Fort Lauderdale. Overall, high COVID risk indices can be explained by the fact that the local population’s health is worse compared to the national average.
References
City Health Dashboard. Metric detail for COVID local risk index in 2021. Web.
Lieberman-Cribbin, W., Alpert, N., Flores, R., & Taioli, E. (2021). A risk index for COVID-19 severity is associated with COVID-19 mortality in New York City. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-8. Web.