5,687 new cases, 41 new deaths
Arizona surpassed 24,000 known COVID-19 deaths this week, and while hospitals remain strained, patient levels dropped slightly this week compared with last.
On Thursday, Arizona reported 5,687 new COVID-19 cases and 41 new known deaths.
COVID-19 and other hospitalizations have remained high in recent weeks, with some hospitals operating near or over capacity.
Emergency room visits from patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 spiked to 1,939 visits statewide on Tuesday and remained at a relatively high 1,892 visits on Wednesday.
An increase in emergency room visits from patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 could be an early sign that the extremely contagious omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is taking hold in Arizona, though it’s too early to know for certain.
Arizona is one of six states getting a federal emergency response team to help support overwhelmed rural hospitals. On Wednesday, 2,323 patients were hospitalized across Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19, and just 110 ICU beds were available across the state. While the level of patients remained relatively high in hospitals this week, the numbers were down slightly from last week, state data shows.
The total of known deaths in the state was 24,212 as of Thursday. The state surpassed 24,000 deaths on Tuesday, 17 days after it reached 23,000 deaths.
Arizona’s seven-day COVID-19 death rate per 100,000 people ranked fourth in the nation out of all states and territories as of Wednesday, behind only the Northern Mariana Islands, New Mexico and Tennessee, after ranking first and second last week, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
State data released on breakthrough infections
The state this month began publicly posting data on breakthrough COVID-19 infections, and state officials say the data so far underscores the effectiveness of the vaccine.
About 22% of reported COVID-19 cases in Arizona in October were breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people, according to state health officials.
The vast majority of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among people not fully vaccinated.
State data shows that unvaccinated people in Arizona had a 3.9 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and a 15.2 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 in October compared with fully vaccinated people.
As of Dec. 6, the state had reported 608 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths, which works out to a breakthrough death rate among fully vaccinated people of 0.02%.
Case rates and death reports
Previous days this past week saw the following new case reports: 3,495 on Dec. 25; 344 on Dec. 26; 7,641 on Dec. 27; 1,976 on Dec. 28; and 3,411 on Dec. 29. No cases were processed on Dec. 25, which led to low reported numbers on Dec. 26 and a high number on Dec. 27, state officials said.
Death reports for the past week were: 70 on Dec. 25; zero on Dec. 26; zero on Dec. 27; 162 on Dec. 28; and 27 on Dec. 29.
The Arizona Republic generally recaps the state’s daily numbers online in a COVID-19 updates blog and in a weekly recap story online on Thursdays or Fridays and in the newspaper on Sundays.
Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked among the lowest in the among all states and territories on Wednesday — 43rd — after ranking first and second for much of January and then lower since, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 Data Tracker. Last week, it ranked 31st.
While other parts of the country are experiencing soaring cases due to the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, the omicron variant is not dominant in Arizona. Public health and hospital leaders in Arizona have said they expect the extremely contagious omicron variant to increase in prevalence here during the next few weeks.
The state’s seven-day average for new reported COVID-19 cases was at 3,327 on Thursday, compared with 2,928 a week ago and 3,093 two weeks ago. The average had reached as high as 9,800 in January, according to state data.
Percent positivity, which refers to the percentage of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, varies somewhat based on how it’s measured. It’s been higher in recent weeks, a sign of more community spread.
For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4% to 5%, before rising over the course of July, August, September and October. It was 12% for the week of Nov. 7, 13% for the week of Nov. 14, 13% for the week of Nov. 21, 13% for the week of Nov. 28, 11% for the week of Dec. 5 , 11% for the week of Dec. 12, 13% for the week of Dec. 19, and so far 20% for the week of Dec. 26. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, after a change to the state dashboard.
Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average of percent positives at 9.8% as of Thursday. It shows the state’s percent positivity peaked at 24.2% in December.
A positivity rate of 5% or less is considered a good benchmark that the disease’s spread is under control.
The state’s overall COVID-19 death and case rates since Jan. 21, 2020, still remain among the worst in the country.
The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona since the pandemic began is 331 deaths per 100,000 people as of Wednesday, according to the CDC, putting it fourth in the country in a state ranking that separates New York City from New York state. The U.S. average is 246 deaths per 100,000 people as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.
New York City has the highest death rate, at 420 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Mississippi and Alabama.
Arizona surpassed 24,000 known deaths on Dec. 28 after passing 23,000 deaths on Dec. 11, 22,000 deaths on Nov. 23, 21,000 deaths on Oct. 27, and 20,000 deaths on Oct. 1.
The state exceeded 10,000 known deaths on Jan. 9. Arizona’s first known death from the disease occurred in mid-March 2020.
Many of the reported deaths occurred days or weeks before because of reporting delays and death certificate matching.
A total of 1,373,767 COVID-19 cases had been identified across the state as of Thursday.
Hospitals remain stretched
The Arizona data dashboard shows 93% of all ICU beds and 94% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use on Wednesday, with 38% of ICU beds and 26% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 110 ICU beds and 544 non-ICU beds were available, a slightly higher number of available beds than last week, when just 94 ICU beds were unoccupied.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 2,323 on Wednesday, a drop from last week and from metrics earlier in the month. Two weeks ago that number was at 2,789. The record was 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11. The highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in a single day during the summer 2020 surge was 3,517 on July 13.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 628 on Wednesday, compared with 669 last week and 704 three weeks prior, still far below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11. During the summer surge in mid-July 2020, ICU beds in use for COVID-19 peaked at 970.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was at 391 on Wednesday. The record-high 821 was reached on Jan. 13. During the summer 2020 surge, July 16 was the peak day for ventilator use, with 687 patients.
Wednesday saw 1,892 patients in Arizona emergency rooms for COVID-19, which is relatively high yet still below the Dec. 29, 2020, single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.
Vaccination update
Arizonans aged 5 and older are eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 and older. Many individuals are eligible for booster doses, too.
The state reported more than 4.6 million people in Arizona — about 65.2% of the total state population — had received at least one vaccine dose as of Thursday, with more than 3.9 million residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.
Arizona’s rate of fully vaccinated people out of the total population is 56.9%, which is behind the national rate of 61.9%, according to the CDC as of Wednesday.
Out of the vaccine-eligible population, people ages 5 and older, 60.5% of those in Arizona are fully vaccinated, compared with 65.9% at the national level, CDC data shows.
Health experts strongly recommend booster shots, especially with the omicron variant spreading. About 32% of fully vaccinated Arizonans over the age of 18 had received a booster shot as of Wednesday, slightly below the national rate of 35.9% for that same age group.
The CDC recommends booster doses for fully vaccinated individuals ages 16 and older as long as it’s six months or longer after they became fully vaccinated.
What to know about Thursday’s numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 1,373,767.
Daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the state health department, not by the date the tests were administered.
Cases by county: 866,014 in Maricopa; 172,153 in Pima; 88,597 in Pinal; 44,260 in Yuma; 38,967 in Mohave; 36,284 in Yavapai; 27,717 in Coconino; 26,905 in Navajo; 19,985 in Cochise; 16,196 in Apache; 12,172 in Gila; 10,441 in Santa Cruz; 8,955 in Graham; 3,638 in La Paz; and 1,483 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The rate of cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began is highest in Navajo County, followed by Graham, Apache, Gila and Maricopa counties, per state data. The rate in Navajo County is 23,847 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. average rate since the pandemic began is 16,047 cases per 100,000 people as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.
The Navajo Nation reported 41,262 cases and 1,588 confirmed deaths as of Wednesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 12,708 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, including 2,284 in Tucson, 2,091 in Eyman, 2,014 in Yuma, 1,342 in Lewis and 1,163 in Douglas; 52,099 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 3,433 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Fifty-six incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with nine additional deaths under investigation.
Race/ethnicity is unknown for 16% of all COVID-19 cases statewide, but of positive cases during the past six months, the breakdown is 42% white, 26% Hispanic or Latino, 4% Native American, 4% Black and 2% Asian/Pacific Islander.
The race/ethnic breakdown of cases since the start of the pandemic in 2020 has been 39% white, 29% Hispanic or Latino, 5% American Indian, 4% Black and 2% Asian/Pacific Islander. Race/ethnicity of positive cases since the onset of the pandemic is unknown in 16% of cases, and listed as other race in 6% of cases.
Of those who have tested positive in Arizona since the start of the pandemic, about 20% were younger than 20, 43% were 20-44, 14% were 45-54, 11% were 55-64 and 12% were age 65 or older.
Laboratories had completed 15,579,213 total diagnostic tests for COVID-19 as of Thursday, 10% of which have come back positive. That number includes both PCR and antigen testing. Percent positivity is at 20% so far for the week of Dec. 19. The state numbers leave out data from labs that do not report electronically.
The state Health Department includes probable cases as anyone with a positive antigen test, another type of test to determine infection. Antigen tests (not related to antibody tests) use a nasal swab or another fluid sample to test for current infection. Results are typically produced within 15 minutes.
A positive antigen test result is considered very accurate, but there’s an increased chance of false-negative results, Mayo Clinic officials said. They say a doctor may recommend a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to confirm a negative antigen test result.
Arizona as of Wednesday had the ninth highest overall case rate in the country since Jan. 21, 2020. Ahead of Arizona in cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began are Rhode Island, Alaska, Tennessee, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Kentucky and Wisconsin, according to the CDC.
Arizona’s infection rate is 18,749 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. The national average is 16,047 cases per 100,000 people, although the rates in states hard hit early in the pandemic may be an undercount because of a lack of available testing in March and April 2020.
Reported deaths in Arizona: 24,212
Deaths by county: 13,670 in Maricopa; 3,153 in Pima; 1,306 in Pinal; 1,176 in Mohave; 982 in Yuma; 951 in Yavapai; 745 in Navajo; 542 in Apache; 466 in Cochise; 416 in Coconino; 308 in Gila; 206 in Santa Cruz; 157 in Graham; 107 in La Paz; and 27 in Greenlee.
People age 65 and older make up 17,121 of the 24,212 deaths, or 71%. About 16% of deaths were among people 55-64 years old, 8% were 45-54 and 5% were 20-44 years old.
While race/ethnicity was unknown for 7% of deaths, 52% of those who died were white, 27% were Hispanic or Latino, 7% were Native American, 3% were Black and 1% were Asian/Pacific Islander, the state data shows.
The global death toll as of Thursday was 5,425,516. The U.S. had the highest death count of any country in the world, at 823,115, followed by Brazil at 619,095 and India at 480,860, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Arizona’s 24,212 deaths represent about 2.9% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States.
Republic reporter Alison Steinbach contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes
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