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Arizona continues to have high community transmission and a consistent influx of unvaccinated persons into general ward and ICU beds, pressing hospital teams and impacting care for both COVID & non-COVID patients.
Nineteen percent (1688) of Arizona’s 8754 general ward beds are occupied by mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. Four hundred eighty-two (482, 27%) of Arizona’s 1774 ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, a 2% increase since last week.
While peak occupancy with this third wave never reached levels seen in the prior two, the base of the wave has the potential to be broader. For example, the summer 2020 and winter 2021 waves saw 57 and 98 days with combined ward and ICU occupancy >2000 patients, respectively.
The current #DeltaDucey wave has had 69 days with a combined occupancy >2000 patients. The persistent base of COVID-19 occupancy has important implications for hospitals as they attempt to meet high season demands from now until February.