CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina dropped below 2,500 for first time since Aug. 12, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services data show.
DHHS reported 2,467 hospitalizations due to the virus on Friday, a drop from 2,882 a week ago and 3,808 a month ago.
Hospitalizations hit a delta surge peak of 3,815 on Sept. 9 and a pandemic peak of 3,990 in mid-January.
Of those hospitalized, 676 are being treated in intensive care units, down from the pandemic peak of 955 in late August.
Hospitalizations peaked in weeks prior due to the delta variant, a mutation of the coronavirus that’s more than twice as contagious as the original strain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest CDC data show that more than 97% of sequenced virus in North Carolina is delta.
The vaccine is the best protection against severe COVID-19.
A DHHS study from late August found that those unvaccinated are more than four times as likely to contract COVID-19 and 15 times more likely to die from the disease, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
And those reinfected after contracting COVID-19 months prior, obtaining natural immunity for a time, were more likely to be unvaccinated.
In a population sample taken from March 2020 to last month, there were 10,812 reinfections. Of those, just 200 were vaccinated.
As of Friday, 54% of all North Carolinians and 63% of those eligible for the shot, age 12 and up, are fully vaccinated. Nationally, those rates are 56% and 66% respectively.
Over the entire pandemic, 17,104 North Carolinians have died due to COVID-19. The death tally passed 17,000 on Thursday, the News & Observer reported.
Since Aug. 1, 3,253 have died, making up nearly one in five of all COVID deaths during the pandemic in North Carolina, the N&O reported.
Nationwide, 707,065 Americans have died due to COVID-19, as of Friday.
DHHS reported 4,078 new cases in North Carolina on Friday, bringing the daily average over the last week to 3,549. That rate has dropped from the just under 4,500 a week ago and the 6,600 a month ago.
Among the tests reported Wednesday, the latest data available, 6.7% returned positive. Over the week prior, 7.6% returned positive per day.
State health officials have said they want that rate at 5% or lower. It’s dropped from 11.4% in the past month.
COVID-19 metrics reported by DHHS each day are preliminary and subject to change as more information becomes available.
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