Prince George's Has Best Vaccine Week Yet; Cases Continue To Fall

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — About 26 percent of Prince George's County residents are fully immunized. Around 38 percent have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson Returns

Prince George's County had its best vaccination week yet. This came as the county paused all Johnson & Johnson shots after six reports of rare blood clots. One of those patients is dead, and another was in critical condition, CBS News wrote.

Maryland decided to resume the J&J vaccines after they got federal clearance. The state mainly uses the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna immunizations, so the hiatus didn't derail the rollout, but the pace diminished slightly.

Gov. Larry Hogan hopes to restore full capacity this month. The J&J inoculations begin Monday.

Maryland on Saturday opened appointments for direct scheduling at its mass vaccination sites. Prince George's followed suit. The jurisdiction no longer has the lowest immunization rate in Maryland.

Improving Metrics, Easing Regulations

In other news, the coronavirus case rate is at its best clip since before Halloween. The percent positivity and the hospitalization count have dipped to their lowest marks since around St. Patrick's Day.

These improvements helped Prince George's County lift its outdoor mask requirement. Businesses remain capped at half capacity for indoor and outdoor service, but County Executive Angela Alsobrooks told residents to expect an update soon.

Last week's 905 infections are down 118 from the week prior. This is the first time that Prince George's posted less than 1,000 weekly cases since late October 2020.

The virus also killed 20 county residents last week, which is 10 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: 25.7 percent
• Trend: Up by 3.63 percentage points
• Rank: 22nd out of the state's 24 jurisdictions
• Trend: Up by two slots
• Comments: This was the most Prince George's County residents that have ever been vaccinated in a single week. This narrowly edged out the previous record set two weeks ago. The pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccines still limited the county last week. Maryland announced that it will resume these shots this week. This is the first time that Prince George's has not ranked last in inoculation percentage.

All Marylanders 16 and up are now eligible for the inoculation. For more information on Prince George's vaccination plan, click here. 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: 38 percent
• Trend: Up by 2.78 percentage points

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: 14.22
• Trend: Down by 1.85
• Comments: New cases fell for the third straight week. Before that, infections were on a four-week hike. The case rate was even lower on Saturday when it reached 14.17. That was the lowest clip since Oct. 27, 2020.
• Recent High: 21.43 on April 14
• Recent Low: 14.17 on May 1
• Overall High: 58.83 on Jan. 14
• Overall Low: 7.57 on July 2, 2020

Hospitalizations

• Currently: 125
• Trend: Down by 20
• Comments: Hospitalizations declined for the second straight week. This is the lowest total since the week of March 14.
• Recent High: 158 in the week of April 11
• 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: 42
• Trend: Down by 11
• Comments: Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations declined for the second straight week. This is the lowest total since the week of March 7.
• Recent High: 56 in the week of April 11
• 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: 4.64 percent
• Trend: Down by 0.44 percentage points
• Comments: The positivity rate fell a smidge for the third straight week. The rate was even lower on Thursday when it dipped to 4.3 percent. That was the lowest clip since March 13.
• Recent High: 6.32 percent on April 14
• 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 83,310 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 1,426 county residents.

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RELATED:

• Vaccines Rise, Cases Fall In Prince George's County
• How To Get COVID-19 Vaccine In Prince George's County
• MD Sees Biggest Drop Of COVID Cases, J&J Vaccine Usage Resumes
• Prince George's Lifts Outdoor Mask Mandate, Partially Follows MD
• Vaccine Preregistration No Longer Needed At Prince George's Sites

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.