On the same day the state announced it has administered 1 million doses of vaccine, Maryland health officials reported 1,008 new cases of the coronavirus Friday, along with 16 more deaths associated with the virus.
In a statement recognizing the vaccination milestone, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said the state has about 2.1 million residents who are currently eligible to be vaccinated based on their age, occupation or health status. About a third of them are partly or fully vaccinated, with more than 700,000 Marylanders receiving at least one of the needed two doses.
“I want to thank all of the vaccinators — the Maryland Department of Health, the first responders, the Maryland National Guard, our hospitals, local health departments, and pharmacies — and all of the people who are working around the clock to get shots into arms,” Hogan said in a statement.
Friday also marked the first time in six days Maryland has reported more than 1,000 cases — ending the state’s longest such streak since a three-month stretch from early August through early November. But those new infections came from 42,000 new test results, the most in a week.
The 16 deaths are also the fewest the state has reported in a day since Nov. 30, when there were also 16. Deaths are not necessarily reported on the date they occur.
Those additions bring Maryland to 374,974 infections and 7,495 fatalities since the state reported its first case of COVID-19 in March 2020.
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Also Friday, the state reported 42,592 doses of vaccine administered, the most for a single day. Of those, 22,288 went into the arm of residents who had not yet received a dose. Of Maryland’s 6 million-plus residents, 5.06% have been fully vaccinated, while 11.69% have received at least one shot, according to state data.
About 62.7% of the 1 million doses have been given to white residents, who represent 58.5% of Maryland’s overall population. Black residents, 31.1% of the state’s population, have received 15.2% of the administered doses.
Maryland has administered an average of 27,796 doses daily over the past week, the highest that figure has been. But Hogan, a Republican, said the state has the capability of providing 50,000 to 100,000 shots a day if it had the supply of vaccine.
“Unfortunately, right now, we only receive a tiny fraction of that from the federal government,” Hogan said. “This is the same problem that every state, every county, and every city in America has: we simply need more vaccines.
“This will continue to be a long process for many more months before enough vaccines will be available. The State of Maryland is fully prepared to allocate, deploy, distribute, and utilize every single dose that we are allocated, and I will not rest until a vaccine is available for every Marylander who wants one.”
The state’s seven-day testing positivity rate, which approximately measures the percentage of tests that return positive results over the previous week, was at 4.12% on Friday, down from 4.13% Thursday. The rate has declined for 10 straight days. A month ago, the state’s reported positivity rate was 7.79%.
Maryland reported 1,016 patients in Maryland hospitals Friday facing the virus’ effects, 32 fewer than the day before. Of those 272 were in intensive care, seven fewer than Thursday. In the past two weeks, the number of patients hospitalized has dropped almost 30%, while the tally of ICU cases has declined 20%.