AS COUNTY’S VACCINATION RATE CLIMBS, COVID DEATHS DROP SHARPLY AMONG THOSE WHO ARE VACCINATED

By Miriam Raftery

October 29, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego County’s latest COVID-19 update provided Oct. 27 reveals that 90.2% of all residents countywide are at least partially vaccinated and 81.5% are fully vaccinated.  But 27 of the 28 deaths in the past week from COVID-19 were among people not fully vaccinated, further demonstrating the effectiveness of vaccines at protecting people from severe COVID cases.

Of 288 hospitalizations over the past month, 273 were not fully vaccinated. Another startling statistic is that San Diego County’s case rate is 23.1 per every 100,000 unvaccinated residents – more than three times higher than the 7.5% for vaccinated residents.

Vaccines are not 100% effective; severely immune-compromised people may not get full protection, which is why the CDC has approved booster shots of all three vaccines, emphasizing that the population most at risk is those with immune disorders or reduced immunities due to conditions such as cancer.

The county’s case rate ticked up slightly, with 3,691 new cases reported in the week ending Oct. 26, compared to 3,105 cases the prior week. However, the positive test rate over two weeks has been 2.4%, or 2.8% in the past week.