Virus World

A new study found that more than 99% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first four months of 2021 weren’t fully vaccinated. The Cleveland Clinic, which released the data on Tuesday, also found that the mRNA vaccines created by Pfizer and Moderna were more than 96% effective in protecting against COVID-19 infection. The study “shows that those that are vaccinated are far, far less likely to get the disease than those who aren’t,” Donald Dumford, MD, medical director of infection control for Cleveland Clinic Akron General, told the Akron Beacon Journal.  “The way for us to start to get back to normal life is to have as many people as possible be immune from the virus,” he said. “The vaccine is the best way to do this.” Among the 4,300 COVID-19 patients admitted to Cleveland Clinic hospitals between Jan. 1 and April 13, 99.75% were not fully vaccinated.

 

The study also looked at 47,000 Cleveland Clinic employees who had received one shot, two shots, or no shots. Among those, 1,991 tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months. About 99.7% of those who contracted COVID-19 weren’t vaccinated, and .3% were fully vaccinated. The Cleveland Clinic began offering the vaccine to employees in Ohio in December, according to Cleveland.com. The initial supply was limited, so most employees weren’t vaccinated until early 2021. Of the 51,000 Cleveland Clinic employees in Ohio, about 70% of employees have now been vaccinated, the news outlet reported. Ohio opened vaccine eligibility to adults over age 80 in mid-January, the news outlet reported. As of March 29, ages 16 and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 4.8 million people in Ohio have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. Nearly 42% of residents have received at least one dose, and 36% are considered fully vaccinated.