COVID-19 infections, deaths growing in vaccinated people – NJ Spotlight

Gov. Phil Murphy said again Monday that vaccines against COVID-19 are 99.9% effective against getting the virus and 99.99% effective against dying from it. But the most recent data available shows a significant uptick in breakthrough cases and deaths since the delta variant became the dominant strain in New Jersey.

An NJ Spotlight News analysis of data from the state Department of Health for the most recent two-week period June 29 through July 12 found that the number of COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated people increased by more than 16%. The number of hospitalizations jumped by two-thirds and the number of deaths rose by 55%, that analysis found.

The spike in infections among those fully vaccinated bears out fears of health experts that the much more highly transmissible delta variant would lead to increased cases, hospitalizations and deaths. About three-quarters of the viruses sequenced in New Jersey over the last four weeks were the delta variant, according to the health departments COVID-19 dashboard. New Jersey lifted its mask mandate on May 28, but Murphy and state Commissioner of Heath Judith Persichilli on Wednesday urged all residents, including those fully vaccinated, to mask up again in certain circumstances. That followed similar guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

Murphy and Persichilli said in a statement that they were recommending people wear masks again because it is clear the delta variant is more transmissible, including among the vaccinated.

Concerns over rare inflammation of the heart lead FDA to request expanded trials among children

We have crushed this virus repeatedly like no other state in the nation, and we are proud to boast among the countrys highest vaccination rate, they said in the statement. But at this point, given where our metrics are now, we feel the best course of action is to strongly encourage every New Jerseyan, and every visitor to our state, to take personal responsibility and mask up indoors when prudent.

Those situations include indoors in crowded settings, where there is close contact with people who might not be fully vaccinated and when the vaccine status of others is unknown. They also recommend those who are immunocompromised or atincreased risk for severe diseasewear masks.

During his media briefing Monday on the pandemic, Murphy said that those who are vaccinated and get a breakthrough case of COVID-19 are less likely to be hospitalized or die. Of the 49 fully vaccinated who did succumb to the illness, many had other complicating factors, which kept them vulnerable to a COVID infection, Murphy said.

Lewis Nelson,chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, said wearing masks is necessary to help bring down the number of cases given so many remain unvaccinated and, at the moment, unwilling to get that protection.

Growing since mask mandate ended, COVID-19 transmission rate highest since last years second wave

When the CDC initially recommended that vaccinated people stop wearing masks indoors, they were clear that those who are unvaccinated or who have not developed natural immunity from previous infection with the virus should continue to wear masks, Nelson said. Although the current spike in COVID-19 cases is primarily in unvaccinated people, we cannot differentiate those who are vaccinated from those who are not. Therefore, all people, immune or not, should wear masks when they are in areas with high viral transmission. The slight increase in COVID infections among vaccinated populations, while generally fairly mild, further supports this recommendation.

Murphy and Persichilli said they reserve the right to take further measures, including another mask mandate, if the number of cases continues to rise and urged all those who have yet to be vaccinated to do so.

The vaccines turn COVID into a preventable disease, Murphy said Monday. Because of the vaccines, this is a pandemic, as weve been saying now for many weeks, among the unvaccinated.

Original post:

COVID-19 infections, deaths growing in vaccinated people - NJ Spotlight