DPH announces decrease in hospitalizations, 4 COVID-19-related deaths

Wilmington VA Medical Center to begin Johnson & Johnson vaccinations

By Mike Finney
Posted 3/4/21

WILMINGTON — The Delaware Division of Public Health reported Thursday that four more people have died of COVID-19-related causes, bringing the state’s total number of deaths to 1,444.

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DPH announces decrease in hospitalizations, 4 COVID-19-related deaths

Wilmington VA Medical Center to begin Johnson & Johnson vaccinations

Posted

WILMINGTON — The state Thursday recorded its second consecutive low number for hospitalizations since last year.

The Delaware Division of Public Health reported that, with a decrease of five patients, COVID-19 hospitalizations were at 130. Of those patients, 18 were critically ill.

The number of people admitted to Delaware’s hospitals was the lowest number since Nov. 12, when the same number were hospitalized.

Of the 130 people hospitalized in Delaware, 17 are from Kent County (a decrease of three from the previous day), with 40 still in Sussex County hospitals, a decrease of one.

While that number is trending lower, the state announced that four more people have died of COVID-19-related causes, bringing the state’s total number of deaths to 1,444.

And, there were 218 new positive cases of coronavirus in the previous day, the DPH said.

The data reflects tallies compiled by the DPH as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The four individuals who died ranged in age from 55 to 88, with two from New Castle County and a pair from Kent County.

One of the deaths was a resident of a long-term care facility, bringing the number of total deaths at such facilities to 700.

The 18- to 34-year-old group continues to be the most susceptible toward getting the coronavirus, as 119 people in that bracket tested positive in the latest DPH data, more than doubling any of the other five age brackets.

The University of Delaware has reported increased numbers of COVID-19 cases after a spike that began last week. Its COVID dashboard showed 31 new student cases and one employee positive case for Thursday, after 81 and 89 cases Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

A total of 244,335 people have been vaccinated for COVID-19 so far, an increase of 8,180 over the previous day’s number.

The state currently has a total of 86,170 vaccinations available.

So far, there have been 541,771 negative test results.

Wilmington VA to begin J&J vaccinations

The Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center will begin COVID-19 vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine beginning this weekend, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency-use authorization.

In clinical trials, this vaccine showed an efficacy of 66% against moderate to severe COVID-19 occurring at least 28 days after vaccination and demonstrated greater than 85% efficacy in preventing severe COVID-19 during the same time period.

“Wilmington VA Medical Center is eager to be able to offer a third highly effective vaccine to more veterans,” said Dr. Loan Vu, chief of pharmacy and COVID-19 vaccine program coordinator at the Wilmington facility. “This one-dose vaccine will help us reach our ultimate goal of offering COVID-19 vaccination to all veterans and employees who want to be vaccinated.”

As of Wednesday, the Wilmington VAMC had provided Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna first doses to more than 11,000 veterans, employees and federal partners and both doses to nearly 7,000 of these individuals.

Veterans who are enrolled and receiving VA health care are eligible to get the vaccine when their facility has the supply and reaches their risk category. Veterans are required to enroll with VA to receive health care.

However, to receive care in VA, enrollees must meet certain eligibility requirements under current law, which may include income limits.

During this initial phase of limited supply, the Wilmington VAMC is offering vaccinations by appointment only to the following categories of veterans receiving VA care:

  •  Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care at the Wilmington VAMC or one of its five Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Delaware or southern New Jersey.
  • Veterans also must be 55 years or older, or the enrolled veteran must have underlying health conditions that puts him or her at higher risk. Individuals should speak with their primary care teams for more guidance.

Veterans can get the latest information on the Wilmington VAMC’s COVID-19 vaccination program on its website.

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