Highly Vaccinated States Keep Worst Covid-19 Outcomes Under Control As Delta Spreads, WSJ Analysis Says

In the first major test of Covid-19 vaccines in a wave of Covid-19, places with higher vaccination rates are dodging the worst results so far, while cases and hospitalizations increase in lesser areas. vaccinated.

There are still more tests to come, including when the cold forces well-vaccinated people in the northeast to return indoors. But as the highly contagious Delta strain tears apart across the country, trends so far suggest vaccines may turn Covid-19 into a less dangerous, more manageable disease.

“Vaccines are definitely making a difference,” said David Dowdy, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Wall Street Journal analysis shows sharp geographic divisions in immunization and hospitalization levels, with every state with an above-average vaccination rate showing below-average hospitalizations, including well-vaccinated New England. In the South, meanwhile, fewer people are vaccinated on average and hospitalization rates are climbing faster.

The outbreak caused by Delta is different from its predecessors in the United States because the variant spreads more easily and because it copes with a partially vaccinated population. The United States took another month to meet President Biden’s goal of getting at least one injection of 70% of adults by July 4. As vaccination rates rise, most states are staying behind this mark.