Maryland approaches 5 million COVID vaccines administered
As Maryland health officials reported approaching 5 million coronavirus vaccines administered, the state notched a week straight of fewer than 1,000 new, daily coronavirus infections.
Here’s where the rest of the Maryland Department of Health’s COVID-19 indicators stood Wednesday:
Cases
With 679 new COVID-19 infections Wednesday, the state has now tallied 450,689 cases since health officials began to track the disease in March 2020.
Deaths
Ten more people were reported dead from the illness, which has killed 8,622 in Maryland throughout the pandemic.
Hospitalizations
About 934 were hospitalized with the coronavirus, 10 fewer than Tuesday, according to the health department. Of those patients, 246 required intensive care.
Hospitalizations have been declining for eight days and fewer than 1,000 people have been hospitalized for four days in a row.
Testing positivity
After three days of slight increases, the state’s average testing positivity rate declined Tuesday, health department data shows. The rate, which measures the share of positive tests over the past seven days, was 3.71%, down from 3.82% Monday.
It has remained below 5% for 12 days. The World Health Organization recommends jurisdictions record two weeks below 5% before lifting restrictions aimed at curbing virus spread.
Vaccinations
About 4.99 million vaccine doses have gone into arms in Maryland, with about 2.2 million residents fully vaccinated, according to health department data.
More than 36% of the state’s population have been completely immunized, the data shows.
The state reported 57,298 new vaccinations Wednesday. About 19,386 received the first dose of the two-dose vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, while 36,075 people completed the two-dose schedule. Meanwhile, 1,837 more received Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine.
Maryland has reported an average of 72,471 new vaccinations daily over the last week, health department data shows.
Gov. Larry Hogan continued to urge Marylanders to get vaccinated, noting Wednesday that all state-run mass vaccination sites now accept walk-up appointments.
“It’s never been easier to find and get a vaccine,” the Republican governor said during a Wednesday morning video meeting of the state Board of Public Works.
Vaccines by age:
About 81.5% of Marylanders 60 and older, 66% of those 50 to 64 years old and about 49% of those between the ages of 18 and 49 have received at least one vaccine dose, according to health department data.
Just one vaccine is approved for people under 18, though it’s only authorized for those 16 and older. The state said about 35% of 16- and 17-year-olds have received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech immunization.
Vaccines by race:
About 2.7 times as many white people have been fully vaccinated than Black people in Maryland, despite those demographics accounting for 58.5% and 31% of the state’s population, according to health department data. A week ago, about 2.77 times more white people than Black people had been fully vaccinated. Approximately a month ago, the difference was 2.97.
When it comes to first doses, white residents have received about 2.47 times as many more than Black residents.
About 5.8% of the people who’ve been fully vaccinated in Maryland and whose ethnicity was known identified as Latino, a demographic that accounts for about 11% of Marylanders, health department data shows. About 7.4% of the first doses for which ethnicity was known went to Latino residents, up from last Thursday when Latino residents had received about 7% of the first doses.
Vaccines by county:
Talbot (44.8%), Howard (41.4%) and Worcester (40.7%) counties are the only jurisdictions in the state where more than 40% of the populations have been full vaccinated, according to health department data.
Somerset (22.5%), Cecil (24.4%) and Prince George’s (26.8%) counties have seen the smallest shares of their populations fully vaccinated, the data shows.
Accounting for first doses alone, Howard (53.9%), Montgomery (51.1%) and Talbot (47.9%) have seen the largest proportions of their residents get a vaccine.
Somerset (28.7%), Washington (30.1%) and Caroline (31.1%) have seen the smallest percentage of their residents get their initial immunizations.
Baltimore Sun reporter Pamela Wood contributed to this article.
