CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Over the past month, 788 people have died due to COVID-19 in North Carolina, making August the deadliest month of the pandemic since February, when 1,267 died.
It’s an increase of more than 378% from July, when 208 people died due to the virus.
The data reported Wednesday is preliminary, meaning the deaths reported on a given date can change from day to day. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services updates dates of death as more information becomes available.
Among the 18 months of the pandemic, August is the eighth deadliest overall. But it’s the deadliest month since vaccines became widely available.
The spike in deaths is due to the delta variant, a mutation that’s more than three times as contagious as the original strain. More than 97% of sequenced virus in North Carolina is delta, according to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And deaths are vastly among those unvaccinated.
The North Carolina health department released a report Friday that looked at four weeks of coronavirus data before Aug. 21. Among the findings, 477 people died. Of those, 84%, or 402, were among those who are not vaccinated. In that same time period, 75 people who died were vaccinated.
More deaths have been reported from that time period since then.
Of the deaths among vaccinated people, 67 were 65 or older, a group that is more vulnerable to have a severe case of COVID-19. As of Wednesday, those 65 or older make up nearly 80% of all coronavirus deaths in North Carolina since the pandemic started.
That same DHHS analysis concluded that those unvaccinated are 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to people who are vaccinated, The News & Observer reported.
As of Wednesday, about half of all North Carolinians and 58% of those eligible for the shot, ages 12 and up, are fully vaccinated.
Among those age 65 and up, 86% are fully vaccinated.
As of Wednesday, 633,798 Americans, including 14,529 North Carolinians have died due to COVID-19.
COVID-19 hospitalizations increase
DHHS reported that 3,757 people statewide are hospitalized with COVID-19. That figure increased by more than 287% in August.
About 25% of adults hospitalized, 926 people, are being treated in intensive care units. ICU patients with COVID-19 reached 900 for the first time last week.
In a joint news conference with WakeMed, Duke Health and UNC Health last week, hospital officials urged people not to seek emergency care unless it is necessary, because of the surge in COVID patients in recent weeks stressing the health infrastructure.
UNC Rex announced Wednesday that they are delaying the opening of their new hospital in Holly Springs, so that their dwindling staff can focus on treating COVID patients, The N&O reported.
New case rate continues to climb
The state reported over 7,200 new COVID cases Wednesday. Over the last week, DHHS has reported over 6,900 per day.
That rate has increased by over 260% in the last month.
Among the COVID-19 tests reported Monday, the latest available data, 13.8% returned positive. Over the last week of available data, 13% of tests have returned positive per day.
State health officials have said they want that rate at 5% or lower. It’s one of the many indicators that DHHS uses to gauge COVID spread.
