285K Cases, Vaccinations & More: CT Coronavirus By The Numbers

CONNECTICUT — The past year has been an important one for health data as federal, state and local officials used coronavirus metrics to help decide everything from school closures to capacity limits at restaurants.

More than 285,000 positive cases have been identified in Connecticut and more than 6.9 million tests have been administered — an average of nearly two tests per resident.

The number of people who have been infected with the virus in Connecticut and the country as a whole is likely higher since not every potentially infected person is tested. One study estimated that around 14 percent of people in the U.S. were infected with the virus as of mid-November.

Covid-19 has claimed more than 7,600 lives in Connecticut over the course of a year, according to the state Department of Public Health. That’s more than the number of Connecticut residents who died in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined.

The Nutmeg State mostly got a reprieve from the virus in the summer months, but cases began to tick up again in the fall. Infections rapidly grew from December until around mid-January and have since declined.

Vaccines

Connecticut is among the top states for per capita coronavirus administration. The state got shout-outs from both President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s administrations for the vaccine rollout.

Gov. Ned Lamont decided the state should go with an age-based eligibility system going forward in order to avoid confusion and keep administration efficient as more and more people become eligible.

Connecticut has administered more than 1.1 million coronavirus vaccine doses as of March 5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It ranks sixth among states in the country on a per capita basis with more than 31,000 doses administered per 100,000 population.

Around 789,000 people 18 and older have received at least one dose, which is nearly 28 percent of the adult population.

Lamont has promised a focus on high-need towns for the vaccine rollout. Around 25 percent of the state’s vaccine supply is being dedicated to towns and cities that contain at least one zip code with a social vulnerability index greater than 75 percent. SVI is a CDC index used to determine how vulnerable a community is to things like pandemics, hurricanes and other disasters. SVI uses 15 U.S. Census metrics including poverty rates and crowded housing.

So far high-need towns and cities have lagged behind others. Around 13.8 percent of the population in high-need towns has been vaccinated as of March 1 while more than 20 percent of the population in non high-need towns has been vaccinated.

See also: From 'Party Zero' To 7.6K Deaths & New Hope: Coronavirus Timeline

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Nursing homes

There have been around 3,860 recorded coronavirus-related deaths at Connecticut nursing homes as of Feb. 23, according to data from the state Department of Public Health. Death recorded prior to July 22 include data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Deaths prior to July 22 included data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The state switched over to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network reporting system on July 22 and definitions of what qualifies as a coronavirus death may be different.

There has been a significant drop in both nursing home coronavirus cases and deaths in recent weeks. The vaccine rollout made long-term care residents and staff a priority from the onset.