The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Tuesday that most COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the commonwealth are among people who are unvaccinated or those not fully vaccinated.
Below is information from health officials:
- 97 percent of COVID-19-related deaths between January 1 and September 7 were among unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people. Among a total of 6,472 COVID-19-related deaths identified in Pennsylvania in 2021, the latest data shows 213, or three percent, post-vaccination deaths identified. Cumulative death incidence among the unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated was 7.9 times as high as the death incidence among the fully vaccinated.
- 95 percent of reported hospitalizations with COVID-19 as the primary diagnosis/cause of admission were in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people. Among a total of 34,468 hospitalizations with COVID-19 as the primary diagnosis/cause of admission reported in Pennsylvania, 1,820 were reported to have occurred in fully vaccinated people. These figures account for data from 55 percent of all hospitals and 69 percent of acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania, representing approximately 80 percent of acute care beds in the state.
- 94 percent of reported COVID-19 cases were in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people. Among a total of 639,729 positive cases, there have been 35,389, or six percent, identified post-vaccination cases. Cumulative case incidence among the unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated was 7.1 times as high as the case incidence among the fully vaccinated.
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The data is similar to that seen nationwide and lends credibility to studies that showed the three COVID-19 vaccines are effective.
“The overwhelming majority of the COVID-19 related cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Pennsylvania occurred in people who were not vaccinated,” Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. “In fact, the data shows that compared to unvaccinated people, fully vaccinated Pennsylvanians are seven times less likely to get COVID-19, and eight times less likely to die from COVID-19.”
Beam, speaking Tuesday at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital’s Suburban Pavilion, highlighted that fact that 97 percent of reported deaths recently were of unvaccinated or not fully-vaccinated Pennsylvanians.
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“This data is further proof that the vaccines are our best tool to protect ourselves against the virus, keep our children learning in schools, keep our workforce in-person, and foster social and economic recovery,” she said. “Every person who chooses to get vaccinated brings us a step closer to moving past the pandemic.”
Dr. Donald Yealy, chief medical officer at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said that his hospitals are seeing more patients age 50 and under in their beds with COVID-19.
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“Vaccination is crucial at this time. Our urgent plea is for everyone eligible for a vaccine to get one,” he said.
“While masking and social distancing will help to reduce the risk of becoming infected and transmitting COVID-19, vaccines are the most effective way to protect those who are vulnerable, including the immunocompromised, and our children who are too young to get the vaccine,” Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Michael Ripchinski said.
As of Monday, 67 percent of eligible Bucks Countians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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County, state, and federal officials are working to get more people vaccinated, but the number of shots in arms has slowed down over summer.
Federal authorities said this week that nearly 80 million eligible Americans are not yet vaccinated. President Joe Biden’s administration will have the U.S. Department of Labor implement an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees to require staff to get fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week.
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“This is not about freedom or personal choice. It’s about protecting yourself and those around you – the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love,” Biden said in an address to the nation last week.
The three COVID-19 vaccines in use have been proven safe and effective. For more information on how to get vaccinated, click here.
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