On Oct. 18, the medical center reported that the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in its institutions had dropped to 799, down from 1,081 a week prior.
Other metrics tracked by the medical center—weekly average hospitalizations, intensive care unit capacity, and the number of ICU patients—show similar declines.
For instance, the hospitalizations the medical center was seeing each day on average from Oct. 11-17 was 108, down over 25% from the 145 patients seen a week before. For context, that compares to 328 hospitalizations the medical center was seeing each day on average from Sept. 6-12, and at its peak, 390 hospitalizations from Aug. 16-22, according to the Texas Medical Center data.
Of the 799 total COVID-19 patients hospitalized at the Texas Medical Center, 314 are hooked to ventilators in an ICU, down 19% from the 389 seen a week ago. That number of ICU patients is a significant drop compared to the 466 patients hospitalized in an ICU at the Texas Medical Center two weeks ago, and the 600 ICU patients that were being treated in mid-September.
The seven-day average COVID-19 testing positivity rate for patients admitted to Texas Medical Center hospitals continues to decline and follow the other metrics.
Only 4.6% of the 3,137 patients tested between Oct. 11-17 at Texas Medical Center hospitals came up positive for the coronavirus, according to Texas Medical Center data. The positivity rate has declined from 5.4% a week ago, 7% two weeks ago and 15% eight weeks ago.
Meanwhile, a little over 77% of eligible residents in Harris County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Harris County Public Health reported on Oct. 18.
