Florida is getting $10.6 million as part of a federal initiative called "Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a total of $117 million to state and local health departments to address to expand and tailor HIV prevention strategies in local communities.

In Florida, the money will be split between seven counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach.

The CDC intends for this money to be used to expand syringe services programs and invest more in sexually transmitted disease specialty clinics.

This is the second major round of CDC funding delivered to state and local health departments as part of the initiative, and awards range from $1.9 million to $10.6 million.

The CDC distributed the available funding based on the severity of the epidemic and the number of focus counties within each state. Florida was awarded the highest amount.

The funding comes just over a week after the CDC released its HIV surveillance report, which shows that Florida is leading the nation in the number of new HIV infections, and has the third highest rate of infection.

The state reported 4,584 new HIV cases in 2019, the latest year for which data is available.

According to the CDC, annual HIV infections in the United States have been reduced by more than two-thirds since the height of the epidemic in the mid-1980s, but data indicate that progress has stalled in recent years.

The CDC is planning to award an additional $9 million later this year to support at least community-based organizations to develop self-testing programs and distribute self-test kits in these communities.

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