Local COVID-19 updates
Feb. 19th, 2021 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeAs of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 36 newly reported confirmed deaths (25 less than yesterday - down 41.0%) for a total of 15,409 deaths, 1,679 newly reported confirmed cases (124 less than yesterday - down 6.9%) for a total of 536,506 cases, and 106,656 newly reported molecular tests (6,654 more than yesterday - up 6.7%). The seven day average positivity rate is 2.10%, compared to 2.13% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 3.58%, compared to 3.61% yesterday. The number of estimated active cases was 37,210 (1,456 less than yesterday - down 3.8%). The state also reported 4 newly reported probable deaths (2 more than yesterday - up 100.0%) for a total of 317 and 139 newly reported probable cases (98 less than yesterday - down 41.4%) for a total of 29,288. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 40 new deaths for a total of 15,726 and 1,818 new cases for a total of 565,794. There were 990 COVID-19 patients in hospital (39 less than yesterday - down 3.8%), 258 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (13 less than yesterday - down 4.8%) and 163 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (10 less than yesterday - down 5.8%).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,141.0 (58 less than yesterday - down 4.8%), 626% above the lowest observed value of 157.0 on 7/4/2020 and 82.0% below the highest observed value of 6,241.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 2.10% (0 less than yesterday - down 1.4%), 172% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on 9/21/2020 and 92% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 1,101.0 (40 less than yesterday - down 3.5%), 610% above the lowest observed value of 155.0 on 8/26/2020 and 72% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 44.0 (5 less than yesterday - down 10.2%), 300% above the lowest observed value of 11.0 on 9/9/2020 and 75% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,194 non-ICU beds, of which 7,129 (77.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 732 (8.0%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,333 (14.5%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,442 ICU beds, of which 832 (57.7%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 258 (17.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 352 (24.4%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,203 non-ICU beds, of which 7,067 (76.8%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 758 (8%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,378 (15.0%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,448 ICU beds, of which 832 (57.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 271 (18.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 345 (23.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,829.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 52.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 1,652.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 3.16% (or 5.06% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Nice to see all the daily changes going in the right directions - deaths and cases down, tests up, long-term trends and hospitalizations all down.
Meanwhile, to no surprise whatsover, the state is "very displeased" with yesterday's failures of the vaccination site lookup and booking applicattions:
Finger-pointing a-plenty. At least today the website isn't crashing all the time; alas, it's still not particularly helpful at letting one see where appointments are still available. (And, of course, there aren't anywhere near enough slots to meet the demand.)
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 33 active and 744 cumulative cases as of February 18. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 1PM on February 19, 2021 reported 744 cumulative cases with 33 individuals in isolation, 680 persons recovered and 31 fatalities.
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,141.0 (58 less than yesterday - down 4.8%), 626% above the lowest observed value of 157.0 on 7/4/2020 and 82.0% below the highest observed value of 6,241.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 2.10% (0 less than yesterday - down 1.4%), 172% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on 9/21/2020 and 92% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 1,101.0 (40 less than yesterday - down 3.5%), 610% above the lowest observed value of 155.0 on 8/26/2020 and 72% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 44.0 (5 less than yesterday - down 10.2%), 300% above the lowest observed value of 11.0 on 9/9/2020 and 75% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,194 non-ICU beds, of which 7,129 (77.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 732 (8.0%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,333 (14.5%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,442 ICU beds, of which 832 (57.7%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 258 (17.9%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 352 (24.4%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,203 non-ICU beds, of which 7,067 (76.8%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 758 (8%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,378 (15.0%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,448 ICU beds, of which 832 (57.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 271 (18.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 345 (23.8%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,829.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 52.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 1,652.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 3.16% (or 5.06% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Nice to see all the daily changes going in the right directions - deaths and cases down, tests up, long-term trends and hospitalizations all down.
Meanwhile, to no surprise whatsover, the state is "very displeased" with yesterday's failures of the vaccination site lookup and booking applicattions:
State Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said Friday that state officials were "very displeased" with the catastrophic failure Thursday of its vaccine website and booking system for COVID-19 inoculation appointments in Massachusetts and disputed claims by one of its software vendors that it hadn't been informed about a huge swath of new residents coming online to reserve slots.
Sudders made the comments during an interview on WBZ-TV, one day after the state's website, Vaxfinder, spectacularly failed by crashing on the morning that some 1 million new Massachusetts residents became eligible to book appointments. She also said the appointment system linked to the Vaxfinder site, called PrepMod and was developed separately by a Maryland company, performed poorly.
[ ... ]
Asked whether PrepMod had been told before Thursday that roughly 1 million new people would potentially be looking for appointment slots that day, Sudders answered in the affirmative.
"They certainly were aware of our making the changes," Sudders said. "Because the attestation ... when we make eligibility changes we also change the attestation, saying now individuals 65 and older and people with two or more co-morbidities goes to them, and they have to upload it in their system. And there is daily communication from the Department of Public Health with PrepMod and with our other vendors, so I don't accept that as an explanation for the system, for that part of the system crashing."
Earlier Friday, Tiffany Tate, founder of the Multi-State Partnership for Prevention, admitted her company's PrepMod vaccine registration software underperformed Thursday when hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents went online to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations.
But Tate claimed the repeated server crashes, and the notorious error message that featured the image of an octopus, had nothing to do with PrepMod. She says the breakdown happened at the state's own Vaxfinder vaccine registration site.
And she said the issue might've been avoided if her company had been notified that Massachusetts was going to expand vaccine eligibility by one million people on Thursday morning. "I did not get a phone call that said, we're about to kick it up a few notches," she said.
Sudders, in her later WBZ interview, said the system was overwhelmed Thursday.
"There was unprecedented movement and hits on both the mass.gov website and then onto PrepMod," Sudders said. "It was really an extraordinary number of individuals ... which clearly overwhelmed the system. And again, we regret what happened to residents of the Commonwealth, because people have been very patient."
[ ... ]
PrepMod's has had website issues elsewhere in the country.
The Los Angeles Times reported in early January that California's vaccine rollout was being at least partially slowed by problems with PrepMod, with L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer telling the paper the issues affected a waiting list registry and access to vaccine registration in her region.
And in Pennsylvania, officials earlier this month told The Philadelphia Daily News that PrepMod can't create private appointment links, overbooks clinics, sends patients wrong or conflicting scheduling reminders, and lets people make appointments even if they aren't yet eligible.
One prominent voice in Boston's medical community, Dr. David Rosman, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, offered thoughts on the Vaxfinder saga in a lengthy Twitter thread Friday morning.
"You know in which situation you wouldn't need a website to get your vaccine? From your #doctor," Rosman wrote. "We need these big sites. They help. Doctors and patients have long standing trusting relationships that can help too."
Finger-pointing a-plenty. At least today the website isn't crashing all the time; alas, it's still not particularly helpful at letting one see where appointments are still available. (And, of course, there aren't anywhere near enough slots to meet the demand.)
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 33 active and 744 cumulative cases as of February 18. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 1PM on February 19, 2021 reported 744 cumulative cases with 33 individuals in isolation, 680 persons recovered and 31 fatalities.