Bay State vaccine schedule out today

Everybody get in the pool! Gov. Charlie Baker said that on Wednesday morning a “schedule for all remaining groups” in the state’s vaccination plan will be announced.

The announcement comes as the state has successfully launched a centralized preregistration system for booking appointments and dedicated teacher vaccination days.

That followed a frantic few weeks of website crashes and booked appointments — often before the sun came up — due to shortages of doses. Now CVS and others have joined in the race to inoculate every willing adult in the state.

It also appears the virus is cooling, with health officials reporting Tuesday that 1,018 new coronavirus cases and 16 additional deaths were recorded.

That brings the state total to 570,638 cases since the pandemic began and 16,355 deaths.

The seven-day average of daily deaths is now 27, compared to 77 daily deaths a couple weeks ago. That figure peaked at 175 daily deaths in late April.

Of the state’s total deaths from the virus, there have been 8,773 deaths in longterm care facilities.

Tuesday’s case count follows Monday’s tally of 1,004 cases and Sunday’s count of 1,508. Coronavirus metrics have improved or remained stable as vaccination efforts in the state ramp up.

Estimated active cases in the state are declining, with 25,492 total on Tuesday, down from peaks around 90,000 in early January.

The seven-day average of confirmed cases is now 1,070, a significant decline from an average of 6,241 cases in the first week of January.

Statewide hospitalizations have also been decreasing. Hospitalizations on Tuesday went down by five patients, bringing the total to 619 patients. There are 164 patients in the ICU and 99 are intubated.

The seven-day average of the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has declined from 2,347 patients at the start of January to an average of 654 patients now.