NC coronavirus hospitalizations are declining, but patients are getting sicker

Coronavirus hospitalizations in North Carolina continue to trend downward, but patients are requiring more care.

One out of every 5 patients are on a ventilator in the hospital, which is the highest that number's ever been since the state began tracking this information more than a year ago.

August brings highest number of COVID deaths yet among pregnant women

Recently, the state added information showing how many patients are children. As of Friday, 1.5% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations are among children. While that isn't a large percentage, the number of children hospitalized is continuing to trend upward. In July, more than 2% of coronavirus hospitalizations were children.

Research shows that older adults are still the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Those 65 and older represent nearly 80% of all coronavirus deaths across the country recorded since Wednesday.

The delta variant has caused deaths among the elderly to spike, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study showed that nearly 80% of adults 65 and older are fully vaccinated, which is relatively low compared to states like Wisconsin, Maryland or Minnesota.

As of Friday, more than 16,600 North Carolinians have died of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. That's more than the population of Knightdale.

Despite the widespread availability of vaccinations, the number of people dying from the virus is still trending upward. From June to October, nearly 100,00 coronavirus deaths were recorded in the United States. The majority of Americans dying from the virus are unvaccinated.

There are some indications that the worst of the delta variant is behind us. Nearly 5,000 coronavirus cases were added in the state on Friday, which is down nearly 40% from what is was two weeks ago.