Local COVID-19 updates
Mar. 17th, 2021 05:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeIt's Evacuation Day here in Massachusetts (or at least in Boston), commemorating the day in 1776 when the British left town after having been more or less besieged since the previous April 19 (when the minor unpleasantness at Lexington and Concord occurred). Unfortunately, the coronavirus hasn't gotten the same memo General Gage eventually did.
As of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 44 newly reported confirmed deaths (28 more than yesterday - up 175.0%) for a total of 16,399 deaths, 1,640 newly reported confirmed cases (622 more than yesterday - up 61.1%) for a total of 572,278 cases, and 97,965 newly reported molecular tests (50,419 more than yesterday - up 106.0%). The seven day average positivity rate is 1.92%, compared to 1.86% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 3.37%, compared to 3.20% yesterday. The number of estimated active cases was 25,397 (95 less than yesterday - down 0.4%). The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (same as yesterday) for a total of 333 and 71 newly reported probable cases (113 less than yesterday - down 61.4%) for a total of 34,099. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 44 new deaths for a total of 16,732 and 1,711 new cases for a total of 606,377. There were 620 COVID-19 patients in hospital (1 more than yesterday - up 0.2%), 158 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (6 less than yesterday - down 3.7%) and 102 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (3 more than yesterday - up 3.0%).
Today being Wednesday, the weekly data points were also updated. The average age of hospitalized patients over the past week is 61 (3 less than last week - down 4.7%) while the average age of deaths over the last two weeks is 77 (same as last week). The fourteen-day average test turnaround time (from sample draw to DPH report) is 1.45 (compared to 1.55 last week). The average daily incidence per 100k population over the last 14 days is 19.5 (compared to 20.3 last week).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,083.0 (13 more than yesterday - up 1.2%), 589% above the lowest observed value of 157.0 on 7/4/2020 and 83.0% below the highest observed value of 6,241.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 1.92% (0 more than yesterday - up 3.4%), 150% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on 9/21/2020 and 93% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 644.0 (10 less than yesterday - down 1.5%), 315% above the lowest observed value of 155.0 on 8/26/2020 and 84% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 28.0 (1 more than yesterday - up 3.7%), 154% above the lowest observed value of 11.0 on 9/9/2020 and 84% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,139 non-ICU beds, of which 7,270 (79.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 462 (5.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,407 (15.4%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,407 ICU beds, of which 885 (62.9%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 158 (11.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 364 (25.9%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,021 non-ICU beds, of which 6,892 (76.4%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 455 (5%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,674 (18.6%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,410 ICU beds, of which 846 (60.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 164 (11.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 400 (28.4%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,076.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 39.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 800.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 1.82% (or 3.04% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Day-to-day numbers, frankly, suck. Deaths and cases both are way up, as are the seven-day averages for cases, deaths and percent-positive. So are the overall hospitalization counts. Even worse, the seven-day averages for new cases and percent-positive are both worse today than two weeks ago. As a state, we may well be vaccinating as fast as we can, but we don't yet have enough people vaccinated to knock our case counts down the way Israel and Britain reportedly have. Will Governor Charlie Baker keep reopening the state if we don't see improvements in case counts between now and Monday?
The big vaccination news today, of course, is Governor Baker's announcement that everyone will be eligible for vaccination no later than April 19 (or, at least, everyone over the age of 16, which is the youngest any of the current vaccines are authorized for):
The state still doesn't have a single-point gateway for vaccination signup, and there still isn't enough vaccine coming into the state for everyone to get their shot(s) once they become eligible. Still, for those who haven't already gotten vaccinated, knowing when they'll at least be eligible definitely counts as good news. Happy Patriot's Day, folks!
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 16 active and 809 cumulative cases as of March 16. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 10PM on March 10, 2021 reported 791 cumulative cases with 18 individuals in isolation, 741 persons recovered and 32 fatalities.
As of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 44 newly reported confirmed deaths (28 more than yesterday - up 175.0%) for a total of 16,399 deaths, 1,640 newly reported confirmed cases (622 more than yesterday - up 61.1%) for a total of 572,278 cases, and 97,965 newly reported molecular tests (50,419 more than yesterday - up 106.0%). The seven day average positivity rate is 1.92%, compared to 1.86% yesterday. Excluding higher education, the seven day average positivity rate is 3.37%, compared to 3.20% yesterday. The number of estimated active cases was 25,397 (95 less than yesterday - down 0.4%). The state also reported zero newly reported probable deaths (same as yesterday) for a total of 333 and 71 newly reported probable cases (113 less than yesterday - down 61.4%) for a total of 34,099. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 44 new deaths for a total of 16,732 and 1,711 new cases for a total of 606,377. There were 620 COVID-19 patients in hospital (1 more than yesterday - up 0.2%), 158 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (6 less than yesterday - down 3.7%) and 102 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (3 more than yesterday - up 3.0%).
Today being Wednesday, the weekly data points were also updated. The average age of hospitalized patients over the past week is 61 (3 less than last week - down 4.7%) while the average age of deaths over the last two weeks is 77 (same as last week). The fourteen-day average test turnaround time (from sample draw to DPH report) is 1.45 (compared to 1.55 last week). The average daily incidence per 100k population over the last 14 days is 19.5 (compared to 20.3 last week).
Of the four overview trends (formerly the Page 2 "key metrics"), the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,083.0 (13 more than yesterday - up 1.2%), 589% above the lowest observed value of 157.0 on 7/4/2020 and 83.0% below the highest observed value of 6,241.0 on 1/8/2021. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 1.92% (0 more than yesterday - up 3.4%), 150% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on 9/21/2020 and 93% below the highest observed value of 27.7% on 4/15/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 644.0 (10 less than yesterday - down 1.5%), 315% above the lowest observed value of 155.0 on 8/26/2020 and 84% below the highest observed value of 3,874.0 on 4/27/2020. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 28.0 (1 more than yesterday - up 3.7%), 154% above the lowest observed value of 11.0 on 9/9/2020 and 84% below the highest observed value of 175.0 on 4/24/2020.
Statewide, hospitals reported 9,139 non-ICU beds, of which 7,270 (79.5%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 462 (5.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,407 (15.4%) remained available. Hospitals also reported 1,407 ICU beds, of which 885 (62.9%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 158 (11.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 364 (25.9%) remained available. By comparison, hospitals reported yesterday a total of 9,021 non-ICU beds, of which 6,892 (76.4%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 455 (5%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 1,674 (18.6%) remained available. Hospitals also reported yesterday a total of 1,410 ICU beds, of which 846 (60.0%) were occupied by non-COVID patients, 164 (11.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, and 400 (28.4%) remained available.
Two weeks ago, the 7 day confirmed case average was 1,076.0, the 7 day confirmed deaths average was 39.0, the 7 day hospitalization average was 800.0, and the 7 day weighted average positivity rate was 1.82% (or 3.04% excluding higher education).
The daily raw data file used to create this report is available here.
Day-to-day numbers, frankly, suck. Deaths and cases both are way up, as are the seven-day averages for cases, deaths and percent-positive. So are the overall hospitalization counts. Even worse, the seven-day averages for new cases and percent-positive are both worse today than two weeks ago. As a state, we may well be vaccinating as fast as we can, but we don't yet have enough people vaccinated to knock our case counts down the way Israel and Britain reportedly have. Will Governor Charlie Baker keep reopening the state if we don't see improvements in case counts between now and Monday?
The big vaccination news today, of course, is Governor Baker's announcement that everyone will be eligible for vaccination no later than April 19 (or, at least, everyone over the age of 16, which is the youngest any of the current vaccines are authorized for):
Confident that the state will soon see a surge in available COVID-19 vaccines, Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced plans to expand eligibility for highly coveted appointments to more groups starting Monday, and opening them to all residents over age 16 by April 19.
The state has been working through vaccinating its currently eligible population, which includes all people age 65 and over, teachers and educators, and residents who have two or more of a list of chronic health conditions.
But starting Monday, public-facing workers including grocery employees and transit and sanitation workers will be allowed to book shots, as will all residents over the age of 60. And on April 5, it will broaden to include anybody over 55, as well as people with one of the health conditions, before the doors swing fully open on April 19.
Announced as Massachusetts was slated to celebrate the one millionth resident to become fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the new schedule satisfies President Biden's recent directive that states make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1. And it comes as states across the country have begun announcing eligibility dates. Two states, Alaska and Mississippi, have already made all adults eligible.
[ ... ]
The schedule announced Wednesday marked a significant change from prior plans, by adding new eligibility thresholds based on age. Previously, the state had said it would open appointments to the group of essential workers and then those with one or more comorbidity, before opening to anybody age 16 to 64. Now, people 60 and older, and then 55 and older, will be added to the pool ahead of the general public.
"There's a very strong and important correlation between COVID and age," Baker said. "We believe adding these groups by age will help us vaccinate more of our most vulnerable population faster."
Several states are following a similar model by gradually adding more people based on age, a tactic that experts say will address the people at highest risk of the disease while still meeting ambitious goals to make everybody eligible this spring.
"Given that risk is primarily driven by age, and comorbidities, the approach to keep widening the pool, keep widening the pool, every couple of weeks . . . I think that's a pretty good strategy," Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said in a recent interview. "By May 1, if we keep widening the pool bit by bit, anybody who wants to be in the pool will have been ready to get in."
Meanwhile, the group of workers set to become eligible on Monday will add another 360,000 people to the pool. The list of eligible industries, available at mass.gov/COVIDvaccine, includes groups that have been hailed throughout the pandemic as heroes, such as grocery, restaurant, and retail workers.
[ ... ]
Baker cautioned that eligibility will not mean that appointments will necessarily be easy to get. It may still take weeks to schedule slots even once a group is deemed eligible, officials said in a statement.
The state is encouraging residents to use its newly unveiled preregistration system, which matches eligible groups with appointments at the nearest of the seven mass vaccination sites and alerts them when it is their turn to sign up. More locations are expected to be added to the system in the coming months.
While non-eligible residents are allowed to sign up on the site before they are made eligible, they will not be placed in the digital queue until the date they are allowed to book appointments.
Appointments can also be booked at pharmacies and regional or local vaccine sites, and at hospitals through healthcare providers. Baker noted that, in addition to the increased number of doses flowing into the state, the federal government's direct supply to CVS Pharmacies is also growing significantly.
The state still doesn't have a single-point gateway for vaccination signup, and there still isn't enough vaccine coming into the state for everyone to get their shot(s) once they become eligible. Still, for those who haven't already gotten vaccinated, knowing when they'll at least be eligible definitely counts as good news. Happy Patriot's Day, folks!
The town of Acton's current Google Data Studio dashboard is showing 16 active and 809 cumulative cases as of March 16. The most recent "newsflash style update" at 10PM on March 10, 2021 reported 791 cumulative cases with 18 individuals in isolation, 741 persons recovered and 32 fatalities.