Nearly half of Californians 18 and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, an encouraging metric as some experts watch with concern spiking case rates in Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere in the country.
So far, 46.8 percent of adults in California have received at least one vaccine shot, and 25.5 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among residents 65 and older, 81.5 percent have received at least one shot, and 57.4 percent are fully vaccinated.
The state has now administered 22 million doses, about 80 percent of those delivered to California, and is averaging 371,510 daily injections, an 11 percent increase from a week ago. On Thursday, California will expand eligibility to anyone 16 and older, although the state is also anticipating a significant decline in new doses from the federal government in the coming week, including an 88 percent decline in doses from the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Meanwhile, case rates have remained steady, with counties reporting 3,545 new cases Friday for a seven-day average of 2,580 daily cases, according to data tracked by this news organization. Los Angeles County, the largest and hardest hit in the state, reported 712 new COVID-19 cases, followed by Sacramento County with 400 and Kern County with 260. They were followed by Santa Clara, San Diego and San Bernardino counties.
Hospitalizations from the deadly virus have also continued to decline in the state. As of Thursday, there were 1,930 patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, a 1.5 percent decline from the preceding day. That is the fewest number of confirmed hospitalized cases since at least April 8, 2020.
There were also 475 patients in intensive care unit beds with confirmed COVID-19 cases, a 3.3 percent decline from the preceding day and the lowest number of confirmed cases in ICU beds since at least March 29, 2020, the earliest data available.
Counties also reported 179 new deaths from the virus, for a seven-day average of 101 fatalities. That’s the lowest the average has been since Dec. 6, before a massive surge in cases and deaths over the winter and holidays. Los Angeles County reported 43 fatalities, followed by Riverside County with 27 and San Bernardino County with 24. They were followed by Santa Clara, Orange and San Diego counties.In the Bay Area, Santa Clara County reported 256 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths, for a total of 115,825 cases and 1,995 fatalities since the start of the pandemic. Contra Costa County reported 151 cases and two deaths for a total of 66,118 cases and 764 deaths. San Mateo County reported 46 cases and three deaths, for a total of 40,754 cases and 556 deaths.
San Francisco reported 20 cases and six deaths for a total of 35,425 cases and 493 deaths. Alameda County did not report new case or death data on Friday and has had 84,075 cases and 1,438 deaths since the start of the pandemic.