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More than 150 people have died and nearly 600 have been hospitalized in Illinois due to COVID-19 in “groundbreaking” cases after being fully immunized, according to state health officials.
According to data updated Wednesday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, 159 people in Illinois have died from COVID-19 or complications after being fully immunized. That figure is equivalent to 2.3% of deaths from COVID-19 in the state since Jan. 1, officials said.
At least 593 fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized in Illinois, the IDPH said. The state only reports major infections among those hospitalized or deceased, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the IDPH said.
Those totals mean eight other fully vaccinated people have died and another 30 have been hospitalized last week since the state last updated its figures.
The state does not publish the number of residents who have tested positive after being fully immunized but who have not died or required hospitalization in order to “help maximize the quality of data collected on cases of greatest clinical and public health importance, “the IDPH website read.
A person is considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine, or two weeks after receiving the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Illinois’ top doctor said last week that the groundbreaking cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated residents are a “unicorn,” as she again urged those who have not yet been vaccinated to the do.
“These vaccines are really effective,” said IDPH director Dr Ngozi Ezike. “You know, everyone has heard of a case or two of someone who has had an infection or an emergency hospitalization, but it’s, so far, the unicorn, that you need to focus on. of the people who are not vaccinated, they are the ones who fill the hospital as COVID patients. “
The recent spate of COVID-19 cases in parts of the state has been found in areas with low vaccination rates, Ezike said.
“There is a very clear link between where these case rates are increasing the fastest and how that area is vaccinated, ie the most vaccinated areas have lower case rates.” , she said.
She noted that the growing delta variant has higher transmissibility which affects more people at a time than the previous variants. Within weeks, Ezike said Illinois had seen COVID cases double statewide.
Studies have shown that the delta variant spreads about 225% faster than the original strain of the virus. Studies have also shown that once a person catches the delta variant, they likely become infectious sooner and the virus grows faster in a person’s airways.
As the delta variant continues to spread, experts continue to push for more Americans to get vaccinated against COVID.
The three vaccines currently cleared for emergency use by the FDA have been shown to be broadly effective in preventing serious illness and death from COVID, and all three companies say their vaccines also show promise in preventing these results with the variant. delta. .
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