COVID chest x-rays show difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated

St. Louis (KSDK) – A doctor says a simple series of x-rays shows the difference a COVID-19 vaccination can make.

Side by side, there is a clear distinction.

Lots of white in a chest x-ray shows the virus is gaining the upper hand. More black means healthier lungs.

“The lungs are supposed to be full of air and the air on an x-ray looks… black,” said Dr Ghassan Kamel, a pulmonologist at St. Louis University Hospital.

Most of her patients are not vaccinated and their x-rays contain a lot of white.

“With x-rays looking like this, they would definitely need oxygen at least and sometimes they would need more than oxygen,” Kamel said. “They might need the ventilator and be what we call mechanically ventilated, sedated, and basically life support.”

Yet those who are vaccinated may not even need to go to the hospital.

But if they do, Kamel said, they “don’t require intensive care admission or mechanical ventilation with resuscitation.”

There are cases of occasional breakthrough. Less than 1% of people vaccinated contract COVID.

Yet new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that vaccinated people who contract the virus can spread it just as easily as unvaccinated people.

“The vaccine protects you from getting really, really sick, but it doesn’t protect you from passing it on to your neighbors or loved ones,” said Dr. Rachel Presti, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington.

This is why the CDC is asking Americans to disguise themselves again.

“Wearing a mask is important to try to have some control over that, so it’s not crazy and overwhelms us,” Presti said.

Until the vaccination levels are higher, Kamel hopes that you can get a feel for yourself by looking at these x-ray photos and make the decision to protect yourself.

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