Most Floridians have likely had COVID-19

Nearly three in five Floridians probably had COVID-19, CDC data suggests.

What's happening: More than 12 million people — 58.4% of Floridians — have antibodies that indicate a prior COVID-19 infection, per the data.

Between the lines: The projection, which is based on blood tests taken in February, would mean that an estimated 5,840,439 Florida residents were infected with COVID as of mid-February of this year.

The big picture: Florida's antibody rate is just above the national average of 57.7% of adults.

The bottom line: The projection gives us some insight into how quickly COVID, particularly the Omicron variant, spread in our region — but the study says antibodies shouldn't be taken as protection from future infection.