Health authorities in Los Angeles County, California, said more than 25% of new COVID-19 cases are among the population fully vaccinated against the virus.
The number of cases among fully vaccinated people has risen slightly since last month, when only 20% of breakthrough cases were reported in vaccinated individuals, according to Fox 11. Still, case rates are rising slower in the vaccinated group, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the county’s board of supervisors on Tuesday.
“As more people are vaccinated, the number of fully vaccinated people becoming infected will increase, and with the delta variant that’s far more infectious, exposures to infections have also increased,” Ferrer said during a virtual meeting.
During a period from July 1 through 16, the county reported 13,598 cases, and the unvaccinated represented 74% of all the cases. Fully vaccinated residents accounted for 26% of infections, or 3,592 cases, Ferrer shared.
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“There’s not even 1/10th of a hospitalization per hundred thousand people for vaccinated people,” Ferrer added.
Vaccines are the most effective defense against infectious diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and health officials stress that those who do get COVID-19 while fully vaccinated are unlikely to get very sick.
Nearly 0.27% of people fully vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine tested positive among the group examined through July 16, while just 0.09% of those with the Moderna vaccine and 0.15% of those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine tested positive for COVID-19, according to Los Angeles County Public Health.
“While there are small differences in these numbers, they may be in part due to differences in the risk of people who received different vaccines and differences in the timing of each vaccine’s rollout,” the health agency told the local Fox affiliate. “And because these are all very small numbers, all of the vaccines safely provide excellent protection against COVID infection, hospitalization, and death.”
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The Washington Examiner contacted Los Angeles County Public Health but did not immediately receive a response.
Los Angeles County officials announced a new mask mandate for residents in indoor public locations regardless of vaccine status earlier this month.
