Nearly half of Californians 18 and older received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, an encouraging measure while some experts are concerned about the higher percentages in Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere in the country.
So far, 46.8 percent of California adults 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 received at least one shot, and 57.4 percent were fully vaccinated.
The state has now administered 22 million doses, about 80 percent of those delivered in California, and is averaging 371,510 daily injections, an increase of 11 percent over a week ago. On Thursday, California will be eligible for anyone 16 years and older, though the state also expects a significant reduction in new doses from the federal government next week, including a 88 percent reduction in doses of the one-time Johnson & Johnson- vaccine.
Meanwhile, case rates remained stable, with provinces reporting 3,455 new cases on Friday for an average of seven days of 2,580 daily cases, according to information this news organization detects. 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.
Hospitalizations due to the deadly virus have also continued to decline in the state. As of Thursday, there were 1,930 patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19, a decrease of 1.5 percent over the previous day. This is the least number of confirmed cases in the hospital since at least April 8, 2020.
There were also 475 patients in intensive care units with confirmed COVID-19 cases, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the previous day and the lowest number of confirmed cases in ICU beds since at least March 29, 2020, the earliest available data.
Provinces also reported 179 new deaths due to the virus, for an average of seven days of 101 deaths. This is the lowest that has been the average since December 6, before a huge increase in cases and deaths during the winter and holidays. Los Angeles County reported 43 deaths, followed by Riverside County with 27 and San Bernardino County with 24. They were followed by Santa Clara, Orange and San Diego.
In Bay, Santa Clara County reported 256 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths, for a total of 115,825 cases and 1,995 deaths since the onset 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 reported no new case or death data on Friday and has had 84,075 cases and 1,438 deaths since the start of the pandemic.