Hospitalizations Near May High As Vaccine Reaches Prince George's

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Hospitalizations are approaching their springtime high in Prince George's County. In brighter news, thousands of locals have gotten their first dose of the vaccine, infections are starting to drop and the positivity rate is declining.

Last week's 2,755 cases are down 309 from the week prior, giving the county its second straight week of declining infections. The virus also killed 75 county residents over the past two weeks, the Maryland Department of Health said.

Total infections recently passed 50,000, and virus-related deaths eclipsed 1,000. Here is a look at how Prince George's County is handling the surge.

Vaccine Update

Vaccines are starting to trickle into Maryland. The state tallies the number of people who have gotten the immunization on this website.

The data are reported by area, not by county. Prince George's County is part of the National Capital Region, which also includes these places:

• Charles County
• Frederick County
• Montgomery County

So far, 4,221 people have gotten their first shot in this area. That's 0.18 percent of the population.

It's going to be a while before the vaccine has widespread circulation. The rollout will happen in four phases: 1A, 1B, 2 and 3.

Medical frontliners will be the first to get the inoculation in stage 1A. First responders and folks in long-term care facilities are also at the top of the list.

This means residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living centers will be included in the initial wave. Infections tend to spread rapidly in these congregate living spaces.

After the 800,000 people in group 1A are vaccinated, the state will enter phase 1B. This allows other high-risk residents to get their shots.

Marylanders with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease or heart conditions can get vaccinated during this period. Adults living in other shared homes are the last residents eligible in this round.

Stage 2 opens the door to employees in critical fields. Marylanders working in education, child care, transit and utilities are among those eligible in the second portion of immunization.

The remaining residents can get the coronavirus inoculation in the third and final phase. For more information on Maryland's plan, click here.

Coronavirus Case Rate

Health officials focus on several metrics to evaluate the coronavirus pandemic. The most frequently-used are the case rate, hospitalizations and percent positivity.

The case rate is a per-capita measure that makes it easy to compare places with different populations.

A jurisdiction's case rate is the average number of new coronavirus infections-per-day that it registers over a rolling week per 100,000 people.

As a barometer, Maryland health officials say expanded in-person classes are probably safe when the local case rate dips below 5. Prince George's County's case rate has fallen to 42.79, which is down 4.83 from this time last week.

The case rate hit an overall high of 53.62 on Dec. 10. Since setting that record, the case rate has decreased steadily.

Prince George's had a previous case rate high of 38.85 on May 7. It reached lows of 7.57 on July 2 and 9.96 on Sept. 25, but it's been an upward climb since then.

Hospitalizations

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are soaring. Hospitalizations are nearing their high of 244, set in the week of May 3, and they are still above their summertime lows.

The disease left 205 people hospitalized in Prince George's County in the last reported week. That's up eight from the week prior, and it's the most since the week of May 10. Hospitalizations hit an overall low of 44 in the week of Sept. 20.

Covid ActNow, a coronavirus statistics website, estimates that Prince George's County has 122 beds in the intensive care unit. Hospitals need to save some of these beds for emergencies that aren't related to coronavirus.

Last week, Prince George's had 65 patients in the ICU with the virus. That's up four from the week prior, and it's the most since the week of May 31. ICU hospitalizations maxed out at 69 in the week of May 3 and receded to 11 by the week of Aug. 2.

Positivity Rate

The county's positivity rate fell slightly this week. This is the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive over a moving seven days. The statistic also measures whether an area has enough tests to identify most of its infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a positivity rate of less than 5 percent demonstrates that a region has enough testing to control its outbreak. The Maryland Department of Health says hybrid learning should be safe when jurisdictions fall beneath this benchmark.

Prince George's County's positivity rate sits at 9.24 percent, which is 0.66 percentage points lower than last week. Dec. 5's positivity rate of 10.09 percent was the steepest clip since June 16. That was the county's first slip above the 10 percent benchmark in 170 days.

The positivity rate is down from its May 2 high of 41.95 percent, but it's up from its Sept. 24 low of 3.46 percent.

Total Cases And Deaths

Prince George's County's 53,338 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 1,042 county residents.

RELATED:

• Prince George's Records Most Coronavirus-Related Deaths Since May
• Indoor Dining Shut Down, Capacities Trimmed In Prince George's
• Hogan Activates National Guard To Distribute Coronavirus Vaccines
• PGCPS Delays Hybrid Classes; Classes Stay Online As Cases Spike
• More Coronavirus Regulations Hit Prince George's As Cases Soar

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