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SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County's COVID-19 hospitalizations remained relatively flat as six more fatalities were logged, according to data released today from the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The number of COVID-19 patients decreased from 216 Wednesday to 208 Thursday, while the number of those patients in intensive care declined from 52 to 49.
The county had 23 of its intensive care unit beds available and 67 of its ventilators.
The county also reported 200 new cases of COVID-19, raising the cumulative to 309,969. The county's overall death toll rose to 5,659.
Orange County's averages for infections have remained about the same as last week, according to the latest weekly data released Tuesday by the OCHCA.
The county's weekly COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 residents remained at 7.3, the same as last Tuesday, while the test-positivity rate stayed at 2.8%.
The county's Health Equity Quartile positivity rate -- which measures progress in low-income communities -- inched down from 3% to 2.9%.
Four of the fatalities logged Thursday occurred this month, hiking the death toll for November to seven. Two of the fatalities occurred in October, raising that month's death toll to 84.
The death toll for September remains at 172, just behind August's death toll of 174.
In contrast, the death toll before the more contagious Delta variant- fueled summer surge was 30 in July, 19 for June, 26 for May, 46 for April, 200 for March, 615 for February, 1,589 for January -- the deadliest month of the pandemic -- and 980 for December, the next-deadliest.
Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and UC Irvine professor of population health and disease prevention, told City News Service on Tuesday that the county's infection rates are ``pretty flat'' as of now. But Noymer expects a rise in cases as the temperatures drop.
``There's going to be more this winter,'' Noymer said. ``People forget how bad last winter was, but this winter will be worse than last summer, but not as bad as last winter.''
Last winter, the county's hospitals were nearly full.
The county's case rate per 100,000 for the fully vaccinated was at 3.2 as of Nov. 13, down from 3.6 on Nov. 6, according to the latest data available. The case rate for the unvaccinated was at 16.3, down from 18.2 during the same time period.
The number of fully vaccinated residents in Orange County increased from 2,200,493 as of last Wednesday to 2,217,711 as of Thursday.
That number includes an increase from 2,053,496 to 2,069,649 of residents, who have received the two-dose regimen of vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna. The number of residents receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine increased from 146,997 to 148,062.
There are 208,775 residents who have received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The top dispensers of COVID-19 vaccines as of Nov. 15, the latest figures available, are:
-- The OCHCA, 25.4%;
-- CVS, 18.9%;
-- Walgreens, 6.3%;
-- Kaiser Permanente, 5.2%;
-- UCI Health, 2.7% and;
-- Walmart, 2%.
-- Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, 1.4%
-- Families Together of Orange County nonprofit, 1%;
-- Kaiser Permanente Tustin Ranch, 1%.
Since children ages 5 to 11 were authorized to receive the Pfizer vaccine earlier this month, nearly 7,780 doses overall have been administered, officials said.
As of last Monday, 69% of the total population had received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 64% were fully vaccinated, according to Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county's deputy health officer.