COVID-19 In Maryland: More Than 900 New Cases & 20 Deaths Reported Saturday As Hospitalizations Drop Below 500

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland reported 983 new COVID-19 cases and 20 new deaths, according to state health department data released Saturday morning.

The percentage of people testing positive decreased slightly by .03% to 3.23%.

Hospitalizations decreased by eleven to 498. Of those hospitalized, 364 adults are in acute care and 131 adults are in intensive care.  One child is in acute care and two are in intensive care.

Doctors say the new cases are fueled by dangerous strains targeting the unvaccinated. In an August press conference, Gov. Larry Hogan said the Delta variant, a strain that is reportedly two to four times more contagious than the original virus strain, accounts for nearly every new confirmed case in Maryland.

"The vaccines are without a doubt our single most effective tool to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 and the surging Delta variant, and Maryland's vaccination rate continues to outpace the nation," Hogan said.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 570,806 total confirmed cases and 10,818 deaths.

There are 4,029,618 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 8,842,514 doses. Of those, 4,145,240 are first doses with 9,809 administered in the past 24 hours. They have given out 3,714,589 second doses, 2,819 in the last day.

"Thanks to the millions of people who have rolled up their sleeves, Maryland continues to be one of the most vaccinated states in America," said Governor Hogan of the eight million milestone mark. "We have achieved these numbers with strong public health outreach, innovative lottery and scholarship promotions, and a relentless focus on equity."

Governor Hogan also announced on Saturday that 99% of Maryland seniors are now vaccinated and more than 50,000 children ages 5-11 years old have received a vaccination shot.

"From our oldest to youngest eligible, we continue to lead one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the country," said Governor Hogan. "We have gotten to this point by listening to the experts and by following the science, and that is exactly what we will continue to do as we work to get those last remaining 1% of seniors, and the 12.7% of remaining adults in our state vaccinated, and as we now work to get more of our school age children vaccinated."

The state began to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine again in April after the CDC and FDA lifted their pause on the vaccine due to a rare blood clot found in some women.

A total of 315,029 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 318 in the last day.

On September 24, after the CDC granted final approval for Pfizer's booster, Gov. Hogan announced the immediate authorization of the booster shot for Marylanders who have received their second Pfizer shot at least six months ago. Hogan had already approved use for vulnerable populations in early September.

The state has administered 667,656 additional or booster vaccine doses, 54,296 in the last day.

The state reported 87.3% of all adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In August, the state launched a post-vaccination infections dashboard that is updated every Wednesday. There have been 32,500 total cases among fully vaccinated Marylanders as of Nov. 7.

Less than 0.89% of fully vaccinated Marylanders have later tested positive.

Of those cases, 2,348 vaccinated Marylanders were hospitalized, representing 12.61% of all COVID cases hospitalized in the state. 332 fully vaccinated Marylanders have died, representing 13.56% of lab-confirmed COVID deaths in the state.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: 

• Coronavirus Resources: How To Get Help In Maryland
• TIMELINE: Coronavirus In Maryland, Tracking The Spread And Vaccinations
• Latest coronavirus stories from WJZ
• Latest CDC Guidelines

Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

By County

By Age Range and Gender

By Race and Ethnicity

In:
• Maryland
• COVID-19