Topline
The delta variant of Covid-19 began to take hold in Los Angeles earlier this year. Vaccinated residents were still 29 percent less likely to be hospitalized by Covid-19 than unvaccinated neighbors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is because undervaccinated states are struggling to cope with rising hospitalizations and as health officials push more Americans to get immunized.
Taylor Reed, a traveling registered nurse, receives a Covid-19 vaccine at Martin Luther King Jr. AFP via Getty Images
The Key Facts
The CDC conducted a study and found that the Covid-19 infection rate in Los Angeles County for unvaccinated persons was 4.9 times greater than it was for fully vaccinated individuals. In addition, the rate of unvaccinated hospitalizations was 29.2x higher. Only 3.2% of fully vaccinated Los Angeles residents who were infected with Covid-19 were admitted to hospital within two weeks. This compares to 6.2% of partially-vaccinated individuals who got the virus, and 7.6% of unvaccinated. In the early stages of May, the coronavirus-more infectious delta variant was responsible for less than 10% of cases. However, delta emerged as California's predominant strain as the study concluded. This trend was cited by the CDC as evidence that vaccines have held up despite the fact that delta is more dangerous.
Important Quote
These data show that approved vaccines protect against SARS/CoV-2 infection, severe COVID-19 and increased community transmission of the new Delta variant, according to the CDC's Tuesday study.
Contra
According to a second CDC study, the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines in stopping infections may have decreased. According to the study that examined data from thousands of frontline workers across the country, vaccine effectiveness dropped from 91% to 66% when the dominant strain of the delta variant was identified. The CDC stated that the delta variant is not the only culprit. It is possible that the data was distorted because it only includes 34 infections from fully vaccinated individuals. Also, effectiveness could have been slightly affected by the fact that many study participants were vaccinated months before.
Important Background
Since early July, the number of Coronavirus infections has risen across the country. This has forced some states to struggle with limited hospital resources. Public health officials blamed low vaccination rates in some communities. The delta variant vaccines offer strong protection against severe illnesses, even though their rapid rise in the United States has made them less effective in stopping all infections.
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These 6 States have almost no ICU beds left as Covid Hospitalizations soar (Forbes).
Alarming Study of Mass. Covid Delta Outbreak Incited CDC to Recommend Vaccinated Mask Up (Forbes).
