Higher COVID Rate Found In Some Counties With Higher Vaccination Rate – Why And What It Says About Delta Variant – CBS Sacramento



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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Government officials and healthcare workers will now be required to show proof of vaccination or get tested for COVID at least once a week.

The governor announced the new guidelines today and urges private employers to “follow suit.”

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It comes as the highly contagious Delta variant is now dominant in the state and COVID rates have skyrocketed in the month since California officially reopened, including groundbreaking cases among vaccinated Californians.

New analysis finds that several counties with above-average vaccination rates also have higher COVID case rates, while case rates are declining in counties with below-average vaccination rates.

State-wide data analyzed by the Bay Area New Group found that the five counties, Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco, both have a higher percentage of people fully vaccinated. than the state average and a higher average daily case. rate.

Compare that to those five counties: Modoc, Glenn, Lassen, Del Norte, and San Benito, which have below-average vaccination rates and declining case rates.

However, UCSF infectious disease expert Dr Phillip Norris says the data does not mean the vaccine does not work.

He notes, first of all, that counties referenced with higher vaccination and case rates are more densely populated.

“If there are a lot of people around you, it’s more likely that you will come across one who has COVID,” Norris explained.

He, like other infectious disease experts, warns that vaccinated people can spread the virus without knowing it.

Julie: A lot of people think that if they are vaccinated they cannot transmit. Is it true?

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Philippe: So, originally we thought this might be true.

But he says that’s no longer the case, thanks to the Delta variant.

It points to data from China which indicates that the viral load in the nose of the Delta variant may be 1,000 times higher than previous variants.

“If so, even a little bit in someone who is vaccinated can be a lot,” he explains.

Several studies have indicated that the vaccine can reduce transmission, but most were based on previous COVID variants. (See here, here and here).

Norris notes that as case rates increase with the Delta variant, more vaccinated and unvaccinated people will get COVID, although the data indicates that rates will likely remain much higher among the unvaccinated.

Consider this: In Los Angeles County last month, people vaccinated accounted for one in five new COVID cases.

This means that for every 100,000 people, 10 people vaccinated would test positive against 40 people vaccinated.

Infectious disease experts point out that vaccinated people also have fewer symptoms, are less likely to be hospitalized, and are still considered less likely to transmit.

However, for those who have immunocompromised people in their lives, it is also important to remember that you can still get COVID and give it to them, even if you are both vaccinated.

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NOTE: This story has been updated to include additional links.

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