County Has Best Vaccine Week Yet, But Shots Will Slow Down Soon

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Last week, Prince George's County had its highest seven-day inoculation total ever. Nearly 16 percent of county residents are fully immunized. About 28 percent have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Inoculation hotlines and websites have helped Prince Georgians find available appointments. A mass vaccination site also opened last Wednesday at Greenbelt Station. This offered a boost to the county with the lowest immunization rate in the state.

Maryland expects this growing rollout to temporarily slow down, however. Complications with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine delayed shipments for the next few weeks.

The state mainly uses the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna inoculations, so this won't derail the rollout, but the pace may diminish slightly. Gov. Larry Hogan hopes to restore full capacity next month.

Infections are still slowly rising, and the county passed 80,000 total cases last week. The positivity rate and hospitalizations are also climbing. Intensive care unit hospitalizations are down a smidge.

Last week's 1,280 infections are up 33 from the week prior. The virus also killed 14 county residents last week, which is four more than the week before, the Maryland Department of Health said. Here's a look at where the numbers stand in Prince George's County.

Full Vaccinations

• Currently: 15.5 percent
• Trend: Up by 3.56 percentage points
• Rank: 24th out of the state's 24 jurisdictions
• Trend: No change
• Comments: This was the most Prince George's County residents that have ever been vaccinated in a single week.

For more information on Prince George's vaccination plan, click here. To see when you'll be eligible for the inoculation, read Patch's explainer. Check out our how-to guide to learn how to sign up for the shot. Head to Patch's immunization page to keep up with Maryland's latest vaccine news.

At Least One Dose

• Currently: 28.12 percent
• Trend: Up by 4.18 percentage points
• Comments: This is the largest single-week jump since vaccine rollout began.

This is the percentage of residents who have gotten at least one dose of the inoculation. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two shots. The Johnson & Johnson immunization only has one injection.

Coronavirus Case Rate

• Currently: 20.11
• Trend: Up by 0.52
• Comments: New infections rose for the fourth straight week. This spike ended a period of sharp decline from the county's Jan. 14 peak. The case rate was even higher on March 31 when it reached 20.3. That was the highest since Feb. 14.
• Recent High: 58.83 on Jan. 14
• Recent Low: 15.24 on March 15
• Overall High: 58.83 on Jan. 14
• Overall Low: 7.57 on July 2, 2020

Hospitalizations

• Currently: 158
• Trend: Up by five
• Comments: That is the highest total since the week of Feb. 7. Hospitalizations rose for the fourth straight week. This span has brought an additional 57 hospitalizations.
• Recent High: 217 in the week of Dec. 27
• Recent Low: 101 in the week of March 7
• Overall High: 244 in the week of May 3, 2020
• Overall Low: 44 in the week of Sept. 20, 2020

ICU Hospitalizations

• Currently: 50
• Trend: Down by 2
• Comments: Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations dropped for the first time in six weeks.
• Recent High: 75 in the week of Dec. 27, 2020
• Recent Low: 41 in the week of Feb. 28
• Overall High: 75 in the week of Dec. 27, 2020
• Overall Low: 11 in the week of Aug. 2, 2020

Positivity Rate

• Currently: 5.93 percent
• Trend: Up by 0.27 percentage points
• Comments: The positivity rate rose a smidge for a second straight week. The rate was even higher on April 2 when it reached 6.18 percent. That was the highest since Feb. 22. The percent positivity has been on a fairly continuous hike since early March.
• Recent High: 11.92 percent on Jan. 3
• Recent Low: 4.24 percent on March 4
• Overall High: 41.95 percent on May 2, 2020
• Overall Low: 3.46 percent on Sept. 24, 2020

Total Cases And Deaths

Prince George's County's 80,228 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 1,379 county residents.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Patch Field Editor Elizabeth Janney contributed to this story.

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.