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Updates from two major hospital systems in Minnesota show that fully vaccinated people account for a minority of COVID-19 hospitalizations and an even lower share of serious illnesses requiring intensive care and ventilators.
Allina Health, based in Minneapolis, reported that 176 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday and 40 (or 22%) were vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes the infectious disease. Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health reported 159 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at its facilities in the Dakotas and Minnesota on Tuesday, and that 16 (or 10%) were fully vaccinated.
Hospital systems are among the first in the country to report their COVID-19-related hospitalizations by severity and vaccination status, supplementing public health data and research suggesting the vaccine remains strongly protective against serious illness.
Minnesota officials have encouraged more vaccinations against a pandemic that has caused 8,025 COVID-19 deaths and 692,029 diagnosed coronavirus infections in the state, including 14 deaths and 1,642 infections reported Wednesday. Minnesota is ranked 21st among states with a 74.2% first-dose vaccination rate in its eligible population aged 12 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“If you have not yet been vaccinated, now is the time to make a difference in the battle against COVID-19,” Governor Tim Walz said in a press release on the opening hours of the vaccination site on Tuesday. of the state’s Mall of America COVID-19. .
The disparity in hospitalization rates for rupture between the two systems could be explained by several factors. Allina’s primary service area includes the Twin Cities, which have a higher vaccination rate and greater potential for infections as a result, compared to western Minnesota and the rural areas served by Sanford.
The Dakotas had some of the highest vaccination rates in the country earlier this year as they used efficient delivery systems to speed up the vaccination of healthcare workers, but their progress has slowed. First-dose vaccination rates among people 12 and older are 70% in South Dakota and 60.1% in North Dakota – the latter being the fifth worst among U.S. states, according to the U.S. CDC.
Data from both hospital systems agree on a key trend: Patients hospitalized with groundbreaking COVID-19 cases were less likely to need intensive care or ventilators. Only one of Sanford’s 34 COVID-19 patients on ventilators had been fully vaccinated against two of Allina’s 21 patients.
Several national studies with input from Minnesota have found that COVID-19 vaccines lose some effectiveness in preventing infections amid the rise of the delta variant. However, studies have shown that vaccines remain highly protective against serious illness, hospitalization and death.
Seniors in Minnesota are at greater risk of severe COVID-19, accounting for 87% of COVID-19 deaths in the state and 12 of deaths reported Wednesday. While the first-dose vaccination rate for older people is nearly 95% in Minnesota, health officials have said vaccines tend to produce less immune response in older people, putting them at risk. at an increased risk of infections and diseases.
The Mayo Clinic’s 14-day COVID-19 activity modeling forecast projects an increase in infection rates in Minnesota – where the current rate of 39 infections per 100,000 people per day could rise to 55 by October 4. Mayo modeling showed some slowing in the rise in COVID-19 activity, however, and the positivity rate reported by Minnesota for COVID-19 diagnostic tests declined earlier this week from 7.1 % to 6.8%.
The positivity rate still remains above Minnesota’s 5% precautionary threshold for substantial viral spread.
The CDC’s latest Ensemble model, released Wednesday, predicts little change in Minnesota’s infection rate through October 15. Previous forecasts from Ensemble, which aggregates COVID-19 models from across the United States, had predicted a slight decline in coronavirus activity in the state.
Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744
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