Category: Covid-19

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of July 13, 2021, there have been 3,051,586 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 164,685 total cases and 2,909 deaths.

There were no deaths reported to DHHR over the last 24 hours.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,518), Berkeley (12,909), Boone (2,185), Braxton (1,022), Brooke (2,250), Cabell (8,927), Calhoun (398), Clay (543), Doddridge (647), Fayette (3,562), Gilmer (889), Grant (1,318), Greenbrier (2,913), Hampshire (1,933), Hancock (2,846), Hardy (1,587), Harrison (6,222), Jackson (2,269), Jefferson (4,811), Kanawha (15,535), Lewis (1,314), Lincoln (1,607), Logan (3,305), Marion (4,669), Marshall (3,542), Mason (2,067), McDowell (1,631), Mercer (5,215), Mineral (2,994), Mingo (2,774), Monongalia (9,410), Monroe (1,226), Morgan (1,241), Nicholas (1,913), Ohio (4,319), Pendleton (726), Pleasants (959), Pocahontas (684), Preston (2,965), Putnam (5,362), Raleigh (7,109), Randolph (2,863), Ritchie (763), Roane (667), Summers (866), Taylor (1,290), Tucker (548), Tyler (751), Upshur (1,983), Wayne (3,187), Webster (555), Wetzel (1,399), Wirt (464), Wood (7,965), Wyoming (2,068).

Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Brooke, Clay, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mingo, Morgan, and Wyoming counties.

Barbour County

9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Barbour County Health Department, 109 Wabash Avenue, Philippi, WV

Berkeley County

10:00 AM 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place, Martinsburg, WV

Boone County

Brooke County

Clay County

1:00 PM 3:00 PM, Clay County Health Department, 452 Main Street, Clay, WV

Grant County

Jefferson County

10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Hollywood Casino, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV

Lincoln County

Logan County

Marshall County

Mingo County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Kermit Fire Department, 49 Main Street, Kermit, WV

Morgan County

1:00 PM 5:00 PM, Valley Health War Memorial Hospital, 1 Health Way, Berkeley Springs, WV

Wyoming County

11:00 AM 3:00 PM, Wyoming County Fire Department, 12 Park Street, Pineville, WV

See more here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-13-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Psaki and members of the White House COVID-19 response team have explained that the trusted messengers who will be going door to door to provide information about the vaccines will be doctors, faith and community leaders, and other volunteers not federal employees. She said the campaign is actually a continuation of an effort that has been ongoing since at least April.

So, those are the people who are the trusted messengers around the country. And we believe that we need to empower these individuals to continue to work in communities to make sure people know that these vaccines are safe, that they can save lives, Psaki said in a July 8 press briefing.

Even before the first vaccines were rolled out in mid-December, Biden himself said on Dec. 4 that he would not federally mandate that Americans get a vaccine when he became president.

No, I dont think it should be mandatory, then-President-elect Biden said in response to a question about possible vaccine mandates. I wouldnt demand it to be mandatory, but I would do everything in my power, just like I dont think masks have to be made mandatory nationwide, Ill do everything in my power as president of [the] United States to encourage people to do the right thing.

In a July 12 press briefing, Psaki reaffirmed that the federal government would not mandate vaccinations although, she said the administration would support entities that do require the shots.

Thats not a decision that we are making. Thats not a that is not our intention from the federal government, she said in response to a question about local mandates. There will be decisions made by private-sector entities, by universities, by educational institutions, and even perhaps by local leaders, should they decide that is how to keep their community safe. If they decide to make that decision, we certainly support them in that step.

We asked Greenes office for support for her claim that vaccinations would be required as part of the door-to-door campaign. We have not yet received a reply.

The freshman Republican congresswoman from Georgia made other claims in her tweet that we have previously addressed.

She said there have been 5,946 reported deaths after taking the #COVID19 vaccine, leaving the misleading impression that the deaths were caused by the vaccines.

It is true that 5,946 deaths were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, as of July 6. But [r]eports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states on its website.

As weve written before, anyone can submit a report of an adverse event to VAERS regardless of whether the vaccine was a factor. In the case of deaths, health care providers are required to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if its unclear whether the vaccine was the cause, the CDC says.

A review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC said of death reports. However, recent reports indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and TTS, a rare and serious adverse eventblood clots with low plateletswhich has caused deaths.

As of July 6, the Food and Drug Administration and CDC had identified 38 cases of the rare blood clotting condition, which is known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. There have been three deaths from the condition among those cases, as of May 7.

Greene also tweeted that the vaccine is NOT FDA approved which is true, but misleading.

As weve noted, the FDA has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines including the one manufactured by Johnson & Johnson for emergency use. In order to grant an emergency use authorization, regulators must determine that the product may be effective and the known and potential benefits of a product outweigh its known and potential risks a standard that is typically less stringent than the standard full licensure, which is called a biologics license application, or BLA.

However, for the three COVID-19 vaccines, the FDA set up more rigorous EUA requirements that resemble the process for a BLA. The FDA required at least one well-designed Phase 3 clinical trial that demonstrates the vaccines safety and efficacy in a clear and compelling manner and wanted to see at least two months of follow-up data on half or more of the participants.

Greene disregards the rigorous clinical trials and real-world evidence that show the vaccines have been safe and effective.

According to CDC data, the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths from COVID-19 has declined by about 94% since the vaccines became available in the U.S. The seven-day average of daily deaths was 2,779 on Dec. 14; as of July 11, it was down to 176.

Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna have filed for final approval of their vaccines.

Finally, while claiming that 33,631,656 Americans SURVIVED covid, Greene did not acknowledge that more than 600,000 U.S. deaths have been attributed to the disease. Even some individuals who have survived an infection have reported experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and side effects that persist for months.

Whats more, only a small percentage of recent COVID-19 deaths have been people who were vaccinated, according to government data.

In a July 1 White House COVID-19 response team briefing, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that preliminary data from a collection of states since January suggest 99.5% of deaths from COVID-19 in these states have occurred in unvaccinated people.

With vaccines available across the country, the suffering and loss we are now seeing is nearly entirely avoidable, she said.

Walenskys remarks are in line with an Associated Press analysis that found that nearly all of the people in the U.S. who died from COVID-19 in May were not vaccinated.

About 150 out of more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths that month were in fully vaccinated people. That translates to about 0.8%, or five deaths per day on average, the AP reported.

The news service also said that fully vaccinated people accounted for less than 1,200 or about 1.1% of more than 107,000 COVID-19 related hospitalizations that month.

Editors note:SciChecks COVID-19/Vaccination Projectis made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation hasno controlover our editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation. The goal of the project is to increase exposure to accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccines, while decreasing the impact of misinformation.

Biden, Joe. Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the Vaccination Program. Transcript. Whitehouse.gov. 6 Jul 2021.

Taylor Greene, Marjorie. @mtgreenee. 5,946 reported deaths after taking the #COVID19 vaccine. The vaccine is NOT FDA approved. 33,631,656 Americans SURVIVED covid. But Biden & the Dems are coming to your front door to force you to take the vax, schools say your healthy kids need it, and you still think your free? Twitter. 9 Jul 2021.

Psaki, Jen. Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jen Psaki Aboard Air Force One En Route Crystal Lake, IL. Transcript. Whitehouse.gov. 7 Jul 2021.

Psaki, Jen. Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Transcript. Whitehouse.gov. 12 Jul 2021.

CNN New Day. Transcript. 7 Jul 2021.

Zients, Jeff. Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials. Transcript. Whitehouse.gov. 8 Jul 2021.

Joe Biden Speech on 2020 Job Numbers & Economy. Video. Rev.com. 4 Dec 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination. Cdc.gov. Accessed 11 Jul 2021.

Jaramillo, Catalina. Viral Posts Misuse VAERS Data to Make False Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines. FactCheck.org. 31 Mar 2021, updated 14 May 2021.

McDonald, Jessica. Q&A on COVID-19 Vaccines. FactCheck.org. 18 Dec 2020, updated 26 May 2021.

Pfizer and BioNTech Initiate Rolling Submission of Biologics License Application for U.S. FDA Approval of Their COVID-19 Vaccine. Press release. 7 May 2021.

Moderna Announces Initiation of Rolling Submission of Biologics License Application (BLA) with U.S. FDA for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Press release. 1 Jun 2021.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US Reported to CDC, by State/Territory. Cdc.gov. Accessed 12 Jul 2021.

Walensky, Rochelle. Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials. Transcript. Whitehouse.gov. 1 Jul 2021.

Johnson, Carla K. and Mike Stobbe. Nearly all COVID deaths in US are now among unvaccinated. Associated Press. 24 Jun 2021.

Excerpt from:

Greene's Deceptive Claims of Forced COVID-19 Vaccinations and Vaccination 'Deaths' - FactCheck.org

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week, the countrys public health institute reported Tuesday. The surge follows the scrapping of almost all remaining lockdown restrictions and the reopening of night clubs in late June.

The weekly update showing that nearly 52,000 people in the Netherlands tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week came a day after caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized for the June 26 lockdown relaxation and called it an error of judgment.

Rutte backtracked Friday and reintroduced some restrictions in an attempt to rein in the soaring infection rate. Bars again have to close at midnight, while discotheques and clubs were shuttered again until at least Aug. 13.

The Netherlands, along with other European nations, is facing a rise in infections fueled by the more contagious delta variant just as governments hoped to greatly ease or eliminate remaining pandemic restrictions during the summer holiday season.

With infections rising around France, President Emmanuel Macron on Monday cranked up pressure on people to get vaccinated and said special COVID passes would be required to go into restaurants and shopping malls starting next month.

The Dutch public health institute said that of the infections that could be traced to their source, 37% happened in a hospitality venue such as a bar or club. Infections among people ages 18-24 surged by 262%, followed by a 191% rise in 25-29 year-olds.

Despite the alarming rise in confirmed cases, hospital admissions increased by a modest 11%, or 60 COVID-19 patients, over the week, the institute said. Twelve of the admissions were to intensive care units.

More than 46% of the Netherlands adult population is fully vaccinated, and more than 77% of the countrys adults have had at least one shot. Health authorities said more than 1.3 million people would receive their first or second doses this week.

Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said Monday that the late June loosening of restrictions combined with a lack of social distancing and the delta variant has had, of course, an accelerating effect. You can unfortunately see that with hindsight.

Other countries in Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations in the hope of outpacing the spread of the more infectious delta variant.

___

Follow all AP stories on the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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Dutch COVID-19 infections soar by 500% in a week - Associated Press

More than 800 people attended the church retreat.

July 13, 2021, 1:52 PM

3 min read

A COVID-19 outbreak has been reported among attendees of a church retreat, officials announced.

At least 30 positive cases have been identified so far in people who took part in the weeklong event, health officials confirmed.

Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health said more than 800 people attended the Baptist Church retreat at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg, Ohio, from June 27 to July 3. Visitors came to the event from churches across Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

Dr. Michael Dohn, medical director for Dayton & Montgomery County Public Health, spoke out about his concern, stating: Unvaccinated people, including children under 12 years of age, are up to 100 times more likely to get sick after exposure to COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated individuals.

Dohn added: "the outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 virus is still circulating and continues to make people sick.

The positive cases were so far identified in attendees from Ohio and Kentucky.

Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health said more than 800 people attended the Baptist Church retreat at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg, Ohio, from June 27 to July 3.

One person tested positive for COVID-19 during the final days of the retreat and was immediately quarantined off campus, Jason Harmeyer, President of the Chautauqua Camp and Conference Center said in a statement. Event organizers then proceeded to monitor individuals associated with that group for symptoms and conducted regular temperature checks.

Health officials investigating the outbreak said camp and event organizers had failed to provide contact information for attendees after the initial cases were recognized, so authorities were asking anyone who may have attended the retreat to contact them or their local health department.

The camp organizer said it was in regular contact with group leaders to take necessary precautions.

It is unknown how many attendees had received COVID-19 vaccinations.

Continue reading here:

COVID-19 outbreak tied to weeklong church retreat - ABC News

Though the metrics remain near their recorded low points, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in Massachusetts as the Delta variant continues to spread.

The Department of Public Health confirmed 322 cases of COVID-19 across Friday, Saturday and Sunday compared to 269 total new cases confirmed during the four-day July 4 holiday weekend. After counting about 1,000 new cases for the two-week period that ended July 6, DPH has confirmed more than 650 new cases in the last six days.

Since falling to a low of 64 on June 25, the average number of daily new cases confirmed by DPH has climbed to 93.1 as of Monday's update from the public health agency. Over the same period of time, the state's seven-day average positive test rate has increased from its recorded low of 0.31 percent to 0.55 percent.

Hospitalizations also increased in the latest report from DPH, rising above the 100-patient threshold for the first time since the end of June to 101 COVID-19 patients as of July 11, DPH said. At 87.75, the seven-day average patient count is just slightly above its recorded low of 84.75.

The rise in cases and hospitalization comes despite increases in the number of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In the last seven days, providers have administered 56,456 vaccine doses and 33,114 more people became fully vaccinated. There are now 4,273,587 people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Massachusetts.

At the same time, the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 appears to be gaining traction in Massachusetts as in the rest of the country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the mutant was responsible for about 30 percent of all U.S. cases from June 6 through June 19. In New England, the variant caused an estimated 12 percent of cases during that time, about double its share for the prior two-week period. Data for the two weeks ending July 3 was not immediately available Tuesday, but Politico reported last week that the CDC said the Delta variant was responsible for 51.7 percent of all U.S. cases between June 20 and July 3.

Excerpt from:

Mass. COVID-19 Cases On The Rise - wgbh.org - wgbh.org

Jul 13th 2021

COUNTRIES WITH high covid-19 vaccination rates, including England, are lifting social restrictions. Behavioural scientist Katy Milkman and health-policy editor Natasha Loder assess the impact of these changes. Will mask-wearing and social distancing stick? And, how people may one day drill for copper as they now drill for oil. Kenneth Cukier hosts. Runtime: 26 min

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify |Google | Stitcher | TuneIn

For full access to The Economists print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

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Best behaviourhow well will the lifting of covid-19 restrictions go? - The Economist

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. (WPRI) Barnstable County health officials are monitoring positive COVID-19 infections involving fully vaccinated people who visited Provincetown for Independence Day festivities.

Town ManagerAlex Morse said on FacebookMonday Provincetown has seen a handful of newcoronaviruscases in the past few days. The Barnstable County Department of Health said there have been 20 to 25 positive cases from last week, according to Boston 25 News.

Morse stated on Facebook, a number of cases being reported are breakthrough cases, and that the town is in touch with the Health Department and Outer Cape Health Services closely monitoring the data. He also noted nearly all of Provincetowns year-round and part-time residents are fully vaccinated.

Tufts Medical Center epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Dr.Shira Doron told Boston 25 the cases are something to watch but not panic about, but because the town is one the Capes most popular destinations for tourists, there is also the possibility for more cases to arise.

Whenyou have a very highly immunized population, as is the case withP-Town, andthen you have travelers that may be coming from areas that are less well-immunized and maybe even hotspotsthats going to bring in more infection, Doron said.

She also stressed that if youre vaccinated and get infected, youre more likely to develop less severe symptoms.

If youre vaccinated, you havefulfilled your biggest obligation to public health, and you maychooseto go to a crowded bar or nightclub, even though there is some risk is involved inthat, Doron said. It is not zero and its never going to be zero because COVID is here to stay.

Read the rest here:

Provincetown tracking breakthrough COVID-19 infections following holiday weekend - WPRI.com

JOHANNESBURG, July 13 (Reuters) - At an emergency COVID-19 ward run by a charity in southern Johannesburg, medics wheel gasping patients to their beds, rush from room to room with oxygen cylinders and pat the back of someone in the grip of a coughing fit.

The scenes in the converted community hall are a reminder of how badly South Africa has been hit by its third and most debilitating COVID-19 wave yet, as the infectious Delta variant surges through a mostly unvaccinated population.

"The Delta variant has caused enormous strain on the resources ... Every hospital is getting strained, every healthcare worker is getting strained," said Fatimah Lambat, the doctor in charge of the ward set up by Gift of the Givers, a Muslim charity, to ease overloaded public hospitals.

"It's very draining ... patients are still phoning me from the community for help. And when we're full here, we still need to help them," she said. "We don't want them to be lost."

With South Africa recording an average of about 20,000 cases a day and nursing active cases, cumulatively, of more than 10 times that, Africa's most economically advanced nation has also been its worst hit by the virus, with 64,000 deaths.

Soemaya Raffie reacts while being treated at a makeshift hospital run by charity organisation The Gift of the Givers, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

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A vaccination campaign has been slow, with just 4.2 million doses administered to a population of 60 million. Officials aim to reach a vaccination rate of 300,000 a day by the end of August.

Doctors say they have never had to deal with so many COVID-19 infections all at once. Hospitals in the largest city Johannesburg, where the latest wave started, are full.

For 79-year-old Catherine Naidoo, the most terrifying thing about falling gravely ill was knowing that so many had died.

"You don't know what lies ahead. You look at the news and see how people are passing away," the recovered COVID-19 patient said, lying on her back and adjusting her mask. "It was the most frightening experience."

Behind another curtain, medics covered head to toe in protective gear adjusted the drip of a sleeping patient, while in another, a medic was getting a patient to do some exercises before getting her to blow into a tube to test her lungs.

President Cyril Ramaphosa extended COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for another 14 days, including a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol.

Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Janet Lawrence

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

See the article here:

In South African COVID-19 ward, medics battle worst infection wave yet - Reuters

Oxfam is building on its work over the past year to help the poorest and most at-risk people survive the second wave of coronavirus in 2021.

When the second wave of COVID-19 hit India in late April, it created a public health crisis that left hospitals overwhelmed and people literally dying in the streets. In less than a month, the country saw more than 100,000 deaths, bringing the total death toll to more than 300,000the third highest in the world behind the United States and Brazil.

View original post here:

Helping the most vulnerable survive COVID-19 in India - Oxfam America

CNN

Last month, 130 people died of Covid-19 in Maryland. None of them were vaccinated, according to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

In addition, unvaccinated people made up 95% of new Covid-19 cases in the state and 93% of new Covid-19 hospitalizations, Hogan said at a news conference Wednesday.

The connection between vaccination status and Covid-19 is not specific to Maryland and is not limited to last month, medical experts have said.

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, said Marylands data is a trend that will be seen in states across the country.

No question that almost all of the deaths and hospitalizations will be in unvaccinated individuals, and therefore we should expect most of severe illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths will occur predominantly in areas of low vaccination and high Delta, such as in the South and Mountain West, he said.

So far its confirming what we saw with Phase 3 clinical trials: That all of the vaccines authorized for emergency use give extra protection against hospitalizations and deaths, so this has been confirmed now in very practical settings over the past year, Hotez added. Its a reminder that you have every reason to get vaccinated.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Maryland National Guard Sgt. Jason Grant administers a Moderna coronavirus vaccine at CASA de Maryland's Wheaton Welcome Center on May 21, 2021 in Wheaton, Maryland.

Dr. Paul Sax, an infectious disease doctor at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, similarly highlighted the Maryland data as evidence of the continued effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Were finding that 99% of the people with severe disease are unvaccinated, so the vaccines are preventing severe disease, even from Delta, he told CNN on Wednesday.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gave similar numbers during a White House briefing last week.

In fact, more than 99% of US Covid-19 deaths in June were among unvaccinated people. In addition, early data suggests that over the last six months, nearly all Covid-19 deaths in a number of states have been in unvaccinated people, Walensky said last week during a White House briefing.

Preliminary data from a collection of states over the last six months suggest 99.5% of deaths from Covid-19 in these states have occurred in unvaccinated people, Walensky said. She did not specify which states.

In California, just 8,699out of 20 million fully vaccinated peoplehave become infected with Covid-19 between January 1 and June 30, according to state data. At least 652 of those were hospitalized, and at least 71 died a minuscule percentage out of the 37,180 Californians who died in that same time period, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

The data is further evidence of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines, which have proven to be remarkably effective at preventing on new Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths, according to studies featuring tens of thousands of people across the world.

The CDC has tracked so-called breakthrough cases in which a vaccinated person is hospitalized or dies from Covid-19. The CDC has tallied 879 deaths among vaccinated people a tiny fraction of the more than 600,000 Americans who have died of the novel coronavirus.

01:44 - Source: CNN

Fauci on vaccination rates: It's almost like there's two Americas

Overall, new infections, hospitalizations and deaths have sharply declined for everyone over the past few months as over two-thirds of Americans have had at least one vaccine dose.

Yet, unvaccinated people remain susceptible to infection, particularly in pockets of the country where vaccination rates are low.

Its really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable and preventable, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.

Fauci noted that no vaccine provides perfect protection for everyone, but the data shows their clear positive impact.

Obviously there are going to be some people, because of the variability among people and their response to vaccine, that youll see some who are vaccinated and still get into trouble and get hospitalized and die, he noted. But the overwhelming proportion of people who get into trouble are the unvaccinated.

Indeed, states with below-average vaccination rates have almost triple the rate of new Covid-19 cases compared to states with above-average vaccination rates, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In addition, people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus, if they do become infected, have milder illness than unvaccinated people, a CDC study found.

In a news conference Tuesday, President Joe Biden stressed that the vaccines are highly effective and safe.

Study after study has shown that since early May, virtually every Covid-19 hospitalization and death in the United States has been among the unvaccinated. So, if youre vaccinated, youre protected, but if youre unvaccinated, youre not, he said. So please get vaccinated now. It works. Its free. Its never been more important.

Infectious disease experts have also explained that unvaccinated people present an opportunity for the virus to mutate.

The more unvaccinated people are, the more opportunities for the virus to multiply, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. When it does, it mutates, and it could throw off a variant mutation that is even more serious down the road.

So unvaccinated people are potential variant factories, he added.

CNNs Jason Hoffman, Virginia Langmaid, Lauren Mascarenhas and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.

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In Maryland, every person who died of Covid-19 in June was unvaccinated. That's not an aberration, experts say - CNN