Ariz. adds 3,924 new COVID cases
93 new known deaths reported
Arizona hospitals remain strained as COVID-19 patients fill beds, with significant numbers of new virus cases and deaths reported across the state most days.
On Friday, the state reported 3,924 new COVID-19 cases and 93 new known deaths.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen sharply in recent weeks, with 2,770 patients hospitalized Thursday across Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19. The hospitalization metrics are hovering around levels last seen during the end of last winter’s brutal surge.
The state this week began publicly posting data on breakthrough COVID-19 infections, and state officials say the data so far underscores the effectiveness of the vaccine.
About 22% of reported COVID-19 cases in Arizona in October were breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people, according to state health officials. Still the vast majority of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among people not fully vaccinated.
The state data shows that unvaccinated people in Arizona had a 3.9 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and 15.2 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 in October compared to fully vaccinated persons.
As of Dec. 6, the state had reported 608 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths, which works out to a breakthrough death rate among fully vaccinated people of 0.02%.
Previous days this week saw the following new case reports: 6,043 on Dec. 4; 3,820 on Dec. 5; 3,022 on Dec. 6; 3,015 on Dec. 7; 3,506 on Dec. 8; and 3,663 on Dec. 9.
Death reports for the past week were: 164 on Dec. 4; 28 on Dec. 5; zero on Dec. 6; 172 on Dec. 7; 18 on Dec. 8; and 75 on Dec. 9.
The Arizona Republic generally recaps the state’s daily numbers online in a COVID-19 updates blog and in a weekly recap story online on Thursdays or Fridays and in the newspaper on Sundays.
Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 17th Thursday among all states and territories after ranking first and second for much of January and then lower since, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 Data Tracker.
Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 51st among 60 states and territories on March 28, but its rank has fluctuated. Last week, it ranked 14th.
The state’s seven-day average for new reported COVID-19 cases was at 3,856 on Friday, compared with 3,325 a week ago and 3,682 two weeks ago. The average had reached as high as 9,800 in January, according to state data.
Arizona’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 people ranked fourth in the nation out of all states and territories as of Thursday, according to the CDC.
Percent positivity, which refers to the percentage of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, varies somewhat based on how it’s measured. It’s been higher in recent weeks, a sign of more community spread.
For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4-5%, before rising over the course of July, August, September and October. It was 12% for the week of Nov. 7, 13% for the week of Nov. 14, 13% for the week of Nov. 21 and 13% for the week of Nov. 28. It’s at 12% so far for the week of Dec. 5. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, following a change to the state dashboard.
Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average of percent positives at 10.9% as of Friday. It shows the state’s percent positivity peaked at 24.2% in December.
A positivity rate of 5% or less is considered a good benchmark that the disease’s spread is under control.
The state’s overall COVID-19 death and case rates since Jan. 21, 2020, still remain among the worst in the country.
The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona since the pandemic began is 312 deaths per 100,000 people as of Thursday, according to the CDC, putting it sixth in the country in a state ranking that separates New York City from New York state. The U.S. average is 238 deaths per 100,000 people as of Thursday, according to the CDC.
New York City has the highest death rate, at 416 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey and Louisiana.
The state surpassed 22,000 known deaths on Nov. 23 after passing 21,000 deaths on Oct. 27, 20,000 deaths on Oct. 1, 19,000 deaths on Aug. 31, 18,000 deaths on July 6, 17,000 deaths on April 7, 16,000 deaths on March 2,15,000 deaths on Feb. 17, 14,000 deaths on Feb. 6 and 13,000 deaths on Jan. 29, just one week after it passed 12,000 and two weeks after 11,000 deaths. The state exceeded 10,000 known deaths on Jan. 9. Arizona’s first known death from the disease occurred in mid-March 2020.
Many of the reported deaths occurred days or weeks prior because of reporting delays and death certificate matching.
A total of 1,309,184 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state.
Hospitalizations remain high
The Arizona data dashboard shows 95% of all ICU beds and 95% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use on Thursday, with 40% of ICU beds and 31% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 86 ICU beds and 447 non-ICU beds were available.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 2,770 on Thursday, up from last week and hovering around levels not seen since early February. Last week that number was at 2,714 and two weeks ago was at 2,500. The record was 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11. The highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in a single day during the summer 2020 surge was 3,517 on July 13.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 715 on Thursday, compared with 649 two weeks prior, still far below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11. During the summer surge in midJuly 2020, ICU beds in use for COVID-19 peaked at 970.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was at 429 on Thursday. The record-high 821 was reached on Jan. 13. During the summer 2020 surge, July 16 was the peak day for ventilator use, with 687 patients.
Thursday saw 1,773 patients in Arizona emergency rooms for COVID-19, below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.
Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 51st among 60 states and territories on March 28, but its rank has fluctuated. Last week, it ranked 14th.
Vaccination update
Arizona began its first COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers, longterm care facilities and front-line first responders in mid-December, before shifting to a largely age-based rollout in March. Arizonans aged five and older are eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 and older. Many individuals are eligible for booster doses too.
The state reported more than 4.5 million people in Arizona — about 63.4% of the total state population — had received at least one vaccine dose as of Friday, with about 3.9 million residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.
Arizona’s rate of fully vaccinated people out of the total population is 55.6%, which is behind the national rate of 60.5%, according to the CDC as of Thursday.
Out of the vaccine-eligible population, people ages five and older, 59% of those in Arizona are fully vaccinated compared with 64.3% at the national level, CDC data shows.