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PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Thursday reported 2,480 new cases of COVID-19 and 62 more deaths from the disease.
The latest documented totals are 1,039,492 infections and 19,141 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is about four times higher than it was before the state’s third wave began two months ago, with people who are not fully vaccinated making up the vast majority serious illness and death.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital patients in state hospitals was 2,061 on Wednesday, down 29 from the previous day, when the current wave reached its highest level so far.
The number of intensive care beds used by COVID-19 patients was 561, an increase of one from the day before and seven from the peak of the current wave.
COVID-19 patients occupy 32% of the state’s intensive care beds for the third day in a row, according to the dashboard. At the height of the winter wave in January, 66% of the state’s intensive care beds were filled with COVID patients.
The positivity rate for COVID-19 diagnostic tests performed last week was 12% as of Thursday’s update, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. It remains at 12% for samples taken and completed so far this week.
The scorecard also showed that 4,063,821 people (56.5% of the state’s population, based on 7,189,020 residents) received at least one dose of the vaccine in Arizona and 3,580,077 people are fully vaccinated (49.8% of the population). Nationwide rates are 62.7% with at least one dose and 53.3% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state’s daily health department updates present case and death data after the state receives and confirms the statistics, which may differ by days or more. They do not represent actual activity over the past 24 hours. Hospitalization numbers posted each morning are reported electronically the night before by hospitals across the state.
Free federally licensed vaccines are widely available and highly effective in preventing COVID-19 disease, including the more contagious delta variant which now accounts for most new cases in the United States
For details on vaccine availability statewide, the ADHS website has a vaccine search page with locations and other information.
For more information on vaccine availability in the Phoenix metro area, Maricopa County Public Health has a location page that lists pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics, and contextual distribution events. Appointments may be necessary depending on the provider.
The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot is 12 years old, and it is 18 years old for the other versions available, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is severely debilitating or fatal for others. People who are infected without symptoms – which include, but are not limited to, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing – are able to spread the virus.
Information on where to get tested for COVID-19 is available on the ADHS website.
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