Arizona reports 2,480 new COVID-19 cases, 62 more deaths Thursday

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Thursday reported 2,480 new COVID-19 cases and 62 additional deaths from the disease.

The latest documented totals are 1,039,492 infections and 19,141 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.

The COVID-19 hospitalization numbers are about four times higher than they were before the state’s third wave started two months ago, with people who aren’t fully vaccinated accounting for a vast majority of the serious illnesses and deaths.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals was 2,061 on Wednesday, a decrease of 29 from the previous day, when the current wave reached its highest level so far.

The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients was 561, an increase of one from the previous day and seven down from the current wave’s peak.

COVID-19 patients are took up 32% of the state’s ICU beds for the third consecutive day, according to the dashboard. At the peak of the winter surge in January, 66% of the state’s ICU beds were filled with COVID patients.

The positivity rate for COVID-19 diagnostic testing conducted last week was 12% as of Thursday’s update, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. It’s holding at 12% for samples taken and completed so far this week.

The dashboard also showed that 4,063,821 people (56.5% of the state’s population, based on 7,189,020 residents) have received at least one dose of vaccine in Arizona and 3,580,077 people are fully vaccinated (49.8% of the population). The nationwide rates are 62.7% with at least one dose and 53.3% fully vaccinated, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state health department’s daily updates present case and death data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can lag by several days or more. They don’t represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours. The hospitalization numbers posted each morning are reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state.

Free federally authorized vaccines are widely available and highly effective in preventing illness from COVID-19, including the more contagious delta variant that now accounts for most of the new cases in the U.S.

For details about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with locations and other information.

For information about metro Phoenix vaccine availability, Maricopa County Public Health has a locator page that lists pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics and pop-up distribution events. Appointments may be required depending on the provider.

The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot is 12, and it’s 18 for the other available versions, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is seriously debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people without symptoms — which include but are not limited to cough, fever and difficulty breathing — are capable of spreading the virus.

Information about where to get tested for COVID-19 can be found on the ADHS website.

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