Mass. reports 48,767 new COVID-19 vaccinations, 65 deaths Saturday

Patrons entered the Eastfield Mall last week. The facility is serving as a mass vaccination site during the COVID-19 pandemic.Lane Turner/Globe Staff

The number of coronavirus vaccinations administered in Massachusetts rose by 48,767 Saturday to 1,082,785, state officials reported.

The number of new vaccinations was larger than on Friday, when 46,244 were reported.

The total number of shots administered amounted to 71.4 percent of the 1,150,500 doses shipped to providers in the state so far, the Department of Public Health said.

The total shots administered included 807,998 first shots and 274,787 second shots. Those who have had their second shot of the currently approved two-dose vaccines are considered fully vaccinated.

Massachusetts is in the midst of a high-stakes campaign to vaccinate 4.1 million adults in an effort to end a pandemic that has sickened hundreds of thousands and caused more than 15,000 deaths in the state. The state’s effort got off to a slow start but has picked up recently.

The department, in a separate posting, reported 1,949 new confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 527,435. The department also reported 65 new confirmed coronavirus deaths, bringing the state’s total to 15,116.

The DPH said 46,413 people were estimated to have active cases of the potentially deadly virus, and 1,149 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the hospital.

The DPH also reported that 99,915 more tests had been conducted for coronavirus. The total number of tests administered climbed to more than 14.8 million. New antigen tests had been completed for 3,223 people, bringing that total to 516,146.

The DPH reported that the seven-day average rate of positive tests, which is calculated from the total number of tests administered, was at 2.4 percent.

The department said the rate would be 3.8 percent if the effect of college testing programs — in which asymptomatic people can be tested repeatedly in an effort to rapidly identify new cases — is factored out.

The state’s alarming second surge appears to be on the wane. Cases and other metrics have been generally heading downward. But public officials are concerned about a possible resurgence due to new coronavirus variants, and they’re asking people to continue taking precautions and to get vaccinated when it’s their turn.

To take a deeper dive into the state’s coronavirus statistics click here. To check out the state’s vaccine statistics reports, click here.