Between Aug. 16 and Aug. 22, the number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations per day averaged 390 patients, the medical center reported Aug. 23 on its data dashboard.
The second-highest daily average the medical center has seen was 369, reported just the week prior between Aug. 9 and Aug. 15. An average of 360 hospitalizations were reported per day between June 29 and July 5 of 2020.
In total, Texas Medical Center hospital systems report 2,650 COVID-19 patients are now hospitalized—an 8% week over week increase—which marks the second-highest total recorded by the medical center during the pandemic. Of those patients, 594 are on ventilators in the intensive care unit, up from 514 on ventilators one week prior.
As a result, 1,446 ICU beds are occupied, filling approximately 85% of the Texas Medical Center’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 capacity.
The continued surge in cases comes as about 70% of eligible residents in Harris County have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to Aug. 23 Harris County Public Health data.
Texas Medical Center hospitals, meanwhile, have administered nearly 2.14 million total doses since the pandemic began. This comes as the Biden administration announced on Aug. 18 that it would begin offering coronavirus booster shots starting on Sept. 20 to eligible fully vaccinated adults age 18 years old and older. It also comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, now known as Comirnaty, on Aug. 23.
