Orange County COVID Hospitalizations Drop as LA’s Rise – NBC Los Angeles

what to know

  • The number of COVID-positive patients in Orange County hospitals has fallen to even 100.
  • The number of COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals has climbed by 23 people to 373, departing from the recent downward trend.
  • The last time hospitalizations were this low was in mid-July before the Delta variant-fueled summer surge.

The number of COVID-positive patients in Orange County hospitals has fallen from 13 people to an even 100, according to the latest state figures.

The number of those patients in intensive care was 20, up from 19 on Saturday.

Those numbers come two days after local officials reported 171 new positive COVID tests and three additional deaths linked to the virus, raising the county’s cumulative totals to 546,296 cases and 6,860 deaths.

The county does not report COVID data on weekends.

The last time hospitalizations were this low was in mid-July before the Delta variant-fueled summer surge.

Comparatively, the number of COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals has climbed by 23 people to 373, departing from the recent downward trend.

Of those hospitalized in OC, 84% are unvaccinated and 86% percent of those in intensive care were not inoculated, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The county’s case rate per 100,000 people was at 3.4. The testing positivity rate was at 1.7% and 2% in the health equity quartile, which measures underserved communities hardest hit by the pandemic, the OCHCA said.

How different is the BA.2 subvariant of the coronavirus? Not much, says NBC News medical contributor Dr. John Torres. The subvariant has not been labeled as a variant of concern, and it’s not that different from Omicron, Torres says. Here’s a metaphor: if a fully new variant is like the virus putting on a full new outfit, a subvariant is just putting on new shoes.

The case rate per 100,000 people who are fully vaccinated with a booster improved from 3.5 on March 12 to 3.2 on March 19, according to data released Thursday.

For residents who were fully vaccinated with no booster the case rate improved from 3.2 to 2.4. For those not fully vaccinated the rate improved from 6 to 4.1.

The number of fully vaccinated residents in Orange County rose from 2,443,437 last week to 2,446,410, according to data released Thursday. That number includes an increase from 2,287,201 to 2,290,047 of residents who have received the two-dose regimen of vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna.

The number of residents receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine increased from 156,236 to 156,363. Booster shots increased from 1,222,416 to 1,228,846.

In the most recently eligible age group of 5 to 11 years old, the number of children vaccinated increased from 83,724 to 85,376, versus 183,204 who have not been vaccinated. It’s the least vaccinated age group in Orange County.

The age group that has received the most booster shots is 55 to 64.

The OCHCA noted that beginning this week, Friday’s new COVID case counts will be reported on Monday, while Saturday, Sunday and Monday case counts will be reported on Tuesday.

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