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Oklahoma COVID Hospitalizations Again Top 1,500

Photo from World Health Organization

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The number of coronavirus hospitalizations in Oklahoma on Wednesday topped 1,500 for the first time since January, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, as the highly contagious delta variant spreads in the state.

There were 1,578 people hospitalized due to the virus, including 416 in intensive care, with 2,534 newly reported virus cases for a total of 534,922 since the pandemic began, according to the health department.

The seven-day average of new cases has increased from 2,025 on Aug. 9 to 2,271 on Tuesday and Oklahoma is 11th in the nation in new cases per capita with 770.8 per 100,000 residents, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

State health officials have said the increase is due to both the delta variant and a low number of virus vaccinations in the state.

The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 42.6% of Oklahomans are fully vaccinated and 52% have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Nationwide, 51.6% of the population is fully vaccinated and 60.9% have received at least one dose, according to the CDC.

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