Prince George's Reaches Record Low Positivity Rate; Vaccines Slow

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Around 38 percent of Prince George's County residents are fully inoculated. About 46 percent have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Top Story

• Prince George's Lifts Mask Mandate, Aligns With State

Improving Metrics

In other news, the coronavirus case rate is at its best clip in 14 months. The percent positivity has dipped to its lowest mark ever. And the hospitalization count has fallen to its September 2020 level.

Last week's 266 infections are down 87 from the week prior. This is the second straight week that the county recorded less than 500 weekly cases, an achievement that was elusive since April 2020.

It was also the fifth straight week that Prince George's posted less than 1,000 new infections. Before this stretch, the county hadn't accomplished the feat since late last October.

The virus also killed 71 county residents last week, which is 63 more than the week before, the Maryland Department of Health said. This number is inflated because health officials last week reviewed several likely coronavirus deaths and determined that the disease was what truly took these lives. Here's a look at where the numbers stand in Prince George's County.

Full Vaccinations

• Currently: 37.89 percent
• Trend: Up by 2.14 percentage points
• Rank: 17th out of the state's 24 jurisdictions
• Trend: Improved by one slot
• Comments: New full immunizations slowed for the third straight week and fell short of the record high, set three weeks ago. Prince George's had the lowest inoculation rate in Maryland until April 26.

All Marylanders 12 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: 45.9 percent
• Trend: Up by 1.64 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: 3.79
• Trend: Down by 1.76
• Comments: New cases fell for the seventh straight week. Before that, infections were on a four-week hike. This is the lowest clip since March 29, 2020.
• Recent High: 21.43 on April 14
• Recent Low: 3.79 on May 31
• Overall High: 58.83 on Jan. 14
• Overall Low: 0.5 on March 23, 2020

Hospitalizations

• Editor's Note: Prince George's County has not yet updated last week's hospitalization total. The numbers below are based on the most recent data available.

• Currently: 54
• Trend: Down by 23
• Comments: Hospitalizations declined for the fifth straight week. The count has dropped by 104 in this span. This is the lowest total since the week of Sept. 27, 2020.
• Recent High: 158 in the week of April 11
• Recent Low: 54 in the week of May 16
• Overall High: 244 in the week of May 3, 2020
• Overall Low: 44 in the week of Sept. 20, 2020

ICU Hospitalizations

• Editor's Note: Prince George's County has not yet updated last week's hospitalization total. The numbers below are based on the most recent data available.
• Currently: 23
• Trend: Down by 8
• Comments: Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations declined for the fifth straight week. This is the lowest total since the week of Nov. 1, 2020.
• Recent High: 56 in the week of April 11
• Recent Low: 23 in the week of May 16
• Overall High: 75 in the week of Dec. 27, 2020
• Overall Low: 11 in the week of Aug. 2, 2020

Positivity Rate

• Currently: 1.86 percent
• Trend: Down by 0.23 percentage points
• Comments: The positivity rate fell for the seventh straight week. The metric was even lower on Saturday when it dipped to 1.69 percent. This was the county's lowest percent positivity ever.
• Recent High: 6.32 percent on April 14
• Recent Low: 1.69 percent on May 29
• Overall High: 41.95 percent on May 2, 2020
• Overall Low: 1.69 percent on May 29

Total Cases And Deaths

Prince George's County's 85,079 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 1,535 county residents.

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RELATED:

• Vaccine Reaches Nearly Half Of Prince George's; New Record Set
• How To Get COVID-19 Vaccine In Prince George's County
• Prince George's Lifts Mask Mandate, Aligns With State

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.