NC COVID hospitalization rate grew faster in summer than last winter
On Wednesday, North Carolina counted 3,790 hospitalized with COVID-19. That total is similar to peaks seen in January, before vaccines were widely available.
The average number of those in the hospital has been around 3,800 over the past nine days. The pandemic high (so far) came Jan. 13, when North Carolina hospitals were treating 3,992 COVID-19 patients.
The difference is not only in the vaccine but also in the curve. Hospitalizations have increased at a much greater rate in recent weeks than the slow growth seen in the winter.
In two months – since the beginning of July – there’s been an 865 percent increase in hospitalizations. That metric is a good demonstration of the toll the virus is taking in local communities and a signal that COVID deaths, a lagging indicator, are also likely to rise.
