Arizona reports 162 more COVID-19 deaths, 1,976 new cases on Tuesday

PHOENIX – After two consecutive days with no new COVID-19 deaths announced, Arizona health officials added 162 fatalities to the pandemic tally on Tuesday.

Today’s #COVID19 dashboard update adds 1,976 cases and 162 deaths. Hospitals are already strained by COVID-19 patients, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated. Vaccines and boosters protect you and help with hospital capacity as Omicron spreads. More: https://t.co/Ir0LKn910i pic.twitter.com/TVox0Nf59m

— AZ Dept of Health (@AZDHS) December 28, 2021

The state also reported 1,976 new cases, putting the documented totals at 1,364,669 infections and 24,144 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

Tuesday’s death report was the state’s fifth largest of December. Arizona already was second in the nation in seven-day death rate per 100,000 as of Monday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases have been trending downward statewide in recent weeks, with some bumps along the way.

The number of COVID inpatients was at 2,344 on Monday, up 17 from the previous day but 15% below this month’s peak. ICU use for COVID patients was at 610 beds, down 20 from the previous day and the fewest since Nov. 18.

Overall remaining hospital space was reported at 815 inpatient beds (9% of capacity) and 114 ICU beds (7% of capacity) on Monday. COVID cases were taking up 27% of statewide inpatient beds and 37% of the ICU beds.

Arizona’s percent positivity for diagnostic COVID testing was at 13% for samples taken last week as of Tuesday’s dashboard update, up 2 percentage points from the previous week.

ADHS released new data earlier this month showing that Arizonans who aren’t fully vaccinated against COVID were nearly four times more likely than those who are to test positive in October and over 15 times more likely to die from the virus.

The state dashboard on Tuesday showed 69.2% of Arizonans old enough to get vaccinated had received at least one shot, with 58.4% fully vaccinated. The national rates are 77.6% of age-eligible individuals with at least one dose and 65.7% fully vaccinated.

The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot is 5, and it’s 18 for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer version has full Food and Drug Administration approval, while the other two were granted emergency use authorization.

Health officials strongly recommend booster shots for adults (including people 16 and older for Pfizer) who received their second Pfizer or Moderna doses more than six months ago and those who got the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago.

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.

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.

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.

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