PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania health officials said Tuesday that a breakdown of the state’s COVID-19 data since vaccines rolled out show those vaccines are extremely effective.
Acting health secretary Alison Beam says they broke down the number of infections from January 1 through last week.
She says of the about 640,000 total COVID-19 cases, about 35,000 were in people who were fully vaccinated.
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"94% of cases reported during this time period were in unvaccinated, or not fully vaccinated, people," said Beam.
"What this means is that compared to unvaccinated people, fully vaccinated folks are seven times less likely to get COVID-19."
Beam said the numbers they’ve collected show 95% of hospitalizations over that same period were among unvaccinated people. She said 97% of deaths were among unvaccinated or people who were not fully vaccinated.
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Lancaster General Hospital’s Dr. Michael Ripchinski said while infection after vaccine — so-called “breakthrough cases” — get a lot of attention, his hospital's data also show they are a small percentage.
“When fully vaccinated people develop symptoms from COVID-19 in a breakthrough infection, they tend to be less severe symptoms than in unvaccinated people," said Dr. Ripchinski.
He added that the more people who get vaccinated, the safer it is for children who aren’t eligible, and for people who are immunocompromised.