SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — The CDC's county-by-county map now puts all of South Jersey in the red zone — meaning those counties now have a "high" rate of coronavirus transmission.
COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations have been creeping up over the last month or so. By comparison, the suburban counties surrounding Philadelphia are all orange — meaning they have "substantial" rates of transmission.
Look up your county on the CDC's map of transmission levels.
Dr. Martin Topiel, the lead infectious diseases physician at Virtua Health, says 85% of the COVID-19 patients showing up at the hospital are sick from the more-contagious delta variant.
"It is a pandemic of the unvaccinated right now," Topiel said. Nearly all of the severe cases are in people who have refused the shot.
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He says coronavirus vaccines even provide additional protection for those who have already had the virus and have some natural immunity.
"It's clear that the vaccination on top of previous infection is very helpful. Perhaps it's even serving as a booster, and it's more protecive," he said.
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Topiel says he cannot stress enough the importance of everyone who is able to get vaccinated right away. This is especially important with school starting soon, because children under age 12 are still not protected from the virus.