PENSACOLA — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola steadily declined again over the past week.
The number of hospitalized patients fluctuates frequently, so any individual data points are only a moment-in-time snapshot. But here are some key statistics for Oct. 6.
There were 46 people being treated for complications from COVID-19 infection at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola at that time. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 the week prior was 70.
The Oct. 6 number is the lowest at the hospital since July 30.
In addition, there were two children under the age of 18 with COVID-19 being treated Oct. 6 at Studer Family Children's Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart.
While the steady decline in severe illness from COVID is very encouraging, the current number of patients is still higher than what it was on July 4, shortly before the surge of the Delta variant of the virus began in Northwest Florida. On July 4, the hospital had 17 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Of all COVID-19 patients coming to the hospital for care, including visits to the Emergency Department, more than half are under age 50.
More than 90 percent of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Ascension Sacred Heart are not vaccinated.
In Florida, the percentage of people age 12 and older who are fully vaccinated is 66 percent, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker. In Escambia County, the vaccination rate is much lower at 54 percent. In Santa Rosa County, 50 percent of those age 12 and older are fully vaccinated.
Ascension Sacred Heart urges all eligible people, including pregnant women, to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones, and our community against COVID-19.
"The vaccines are safe and effective, and the evidence is clear that the benefits of being vaccinated far outweigh any identified risks or side effects," hospital representatives stated in a media release.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decrease at Ascension Sacred Heart