Deaths down, but vaccines need time
Anne Arundel officials urge safety as hospitalizations rise
Deaths from COVID-19 are trending downward in Anne Arundel County after the winter surge and vaccines are becoming more available, but hospitalizations are climbing back up as health officials warn residents to maintain pandemic safety.
Twenty-eight county residents died in March, matching the number who died from COVID-19 in October before the winter surge gripped the region. The deadliest month since the pandemic began was January, with 105 deaths, followed by April and May 2020.
Hospitalizations reached 54 total patients, a two-patient decrease from Thursday but an increase overall from mid-March. Nine needed intensive care.
As for vaccines, about 28% of county residents have received a first dose.
About 70% of the county population is still at risk of contracting COVID-19, said Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, county health officer. “And that’s why we still need people to be mindful of themselves.”
Anne Arundel reported 155 new coronavirus cases and one new death Friday. Maryland reported 1,457 new cases and 16 new deaths. The county case rate rose to 22.4 cases per 100,000 people from 21.6 the day prior.
The total number of confirmed infections since March is now 39,217, and the virus killed at least 555 Anne Arundel County residents since the pandemic began. Fourteen others are suspected of having died of the virus but were never tested.
The state reported 1,045 Maryland residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, marking the fifth day of more than 1,000 hospitalizations statewide after the number of residents being admitted fell to 765 on March 12. About 794 patients require acute care beds, and another 251 are receiving more serious care.
Hospitalizations overall shot up in the days after Gov. Larry Hogan lifted some restrictions on public places like restaurants, gyms and churches. Hogan, during a press conference Thursday, said his administration does not believe the recent rise in cases and hospitalizations correlates to the reopening.
“Our indications are these variants are much more contagious,” he said.
But the variants work in tandem with human activity, experts said.
“It’s not either-or,” Kalyanaraman said. “It’s both, right? I think that’s the key to all of this ... We always see case rates rise when we relax restrictions, and the variants make that spread happen faster as well.”
Data from the Anne Arundel County Department of Health shows the current seven-day average for ICU hospital beds in use is 74.3%. The seven-day average for acute beds in use is about 80.3%. The data reflects hospital occupancy for Anne Arundel Medical Center and the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, but it is a moving metric, as the hospitals can add or reduce capacity as needed.
The state on Thursday opened preregistration for everyone age 16 and older who wants a vaccine.
The Anne Arundel County Health Department vaccinated more than 6,000 people over the last 24 hours as COVID-19 vaccine production ramps up nationwide.
The added inoculations mean about 28.3% of Anne Arundel County residents have received one shot, and 16.6% are fully vaccinated. There are 252,859 residents total who received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Statewide, more than 1,043,360 people are fully vaccinated. State data on Friday showed Maryland providers had administered more vaccines than have been delivered to the state because, for the last two days, these numbers have included federal institutions based in Maryland, such as the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department.
“To compound the issue, some of those doses have been erroneously allocated to Maryland from time to time,” health department spokesman Charles Gishlar said. “Either way, Maryland’s data management systems pick up the administrations, which can result in administrations (the numerator) exceeding delivered volumes (the denominator). We are working with our federal partners to gain greater insight into these federal allocations.”
The county is now vaccinating people in Phase 2B, which includes people aged 16 and older who have disabilities or underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness.
The county will continue vaccinating people covered under all previous phases, including everyone older than 60 and various essential workers.
Phase 2C, which includes everyone 55 and older as well as essential workers, will begin on April 13.
Everyone not covered in a previous category will be eligible for the vaccine on April 27.
Hogan announced the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury will accept no appointment walk-up visits to the site and encouraged Marylanders to visit this weekend, maybe en route to Ocean City to get boardwalk fries and Easter brunch.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which require two shots, do not offer complete protection to the patient after one shot and are not fully effective until two weeks after the second. The CDC recommends patients wait two weeks after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccination as well.
Kalyanaraman offered the opposite advice: “Don’t go to Ocean City, yet,” he said. The pandemic as we know it will be over by Memorial Day. “We know based on pacing of vax and vaccinators that were almost there.”
Zip Codes
Here is an alphabetical breakdown of the number of cases in each ZIP code in Anne Arundel County as of Friday. State numbers are in parentheses. ZIP codes that overlap more than one county are in italics.
The state numbers also account for cases at congregate living facilities in those ZIP codes, which the county numbers do not include.
Annapolis (21401): 2,435 (2860) Annapolis (21403): 2,303 (2480) Annapolis (21405): 39 (48) Annapolis (21409): 996 (1118) Annapolis Junction (20701): 2 (34) Arnold (21012): 1,069 (1242) Brooklyn (21225): 878 (2394)
BWI Airport (21240): 0 (N/A) Churchton (20733): 123 (140) Crofton (21114): 1,224 (1479) Crownsville (21032): 481 (636) Curtis Bay (21226): 223 (471) Davidsonville (21035): 395 (452) Deale (20751): 107 (115)
Dunkirk (20754): 25 (331) Edgewater (21037): 1,064 (1272)
Fort Meade (20755): (347) Friendship (20758): 34 (39) Galesville (20765): 28 (30) Gambrills (21054): 653 (803) Gibson Island (21056): 8 (N/A)
Glen Burnie (21060): 2,512 (2891) Glen Burnie (21061): 3,867 (4215) Hanover (21076): 1,159 (1559) Harmans (21077): 18 (17) Harwood (20776): 161(168)
Jessup (20794): 256 (1888)
Laurel (20724): 1,443 (1525) Linthicum Heights (21090): 616 (696) Lothian (20711): 457 (489) Millersville (21108): 1,017 (1105) Naval Academy (21402): (203) North Beach (20714): 16 (200) Odenton (21113): 1,802 (1990) Owings (20736): 3 (408) Pasadena (21122): 4,003 (4499)
Riva (21140): 144 (170)
Severn (21144): 2,206 (2418) Severna Park (21146): 1,429 (1768) Shady Side (20764): 183 (203) Tracys Landing (20779): 47 (58) West River (20778): 85 (96)