Unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized by COVID-19: CDC

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed on Tuesday that people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are 29.2 times more likely to be hospitalized because of the virus than people who are fully vaccinated.

The study, which examined infections in more than 43,000 people in Los Angeles from May through most of July, highlights a wealth of data that public health officials across the country have been disseminating since months ago: your chances of suffering from severe symptoms of the virus.

“These data remind us that if you’re not vaccinated yet, you’re among those most at risk,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at a news conference Tuesday after sharing the new findings.

The study also found that infection rates among the unvaccinated were nearly five times those of total vaccination, which sheds more light on how vaccines prevent serious diseases in those with advanced cases.

“Please do not underestimate the risk of serious consequences of this virus,” Walensky continued. “Vaccines are the best tool we have to take care of this pandemic.”

The highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 now accounts for more than 98% of COVID-19 cases in the United States, Walensky said. The threat of such a dangerous variant combined with delayed vaccination rates across the country has left some communities overwhelmed with new cases and the shortage of hospital beds.

Among all U.S. states, Alabama and Mississippi have the lowest percentage of fully vaccinated residents and suffer the consequences.

In Alabama, more than half of the state’s ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving little room for people with other illnesses, and some schools have had to return to remote learning. Mississippi has repeatedly set new records in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. On Tuesday, the state health department announced that the state had set a new record for one day of deaths from COVID-19 after the deaths of 111 people.

The Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, making it the first vaccine to achieve that status in the United States. Several governments, schools, businesses, and other decision makers began deploying vaccination requirements later that day in response to the FDA decision.