Research in Texas: Unvaxxed 20 times more likely to die from COVID

Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people, new research from the state shows.

Driving the news: To determine the effects of the COVID-19 vaccination in Texas, researchers from the state Department of Health Services analyzed data from electronic lab reports, death certificates, and the state’s immunization registry.

• The analysis included a period from January 15 to October 1, 2021 with a focus on the four weeks from September 4 to October 1, which allowed researchers to measure the effect of the COVID-19 vaccination while the variant The most contagious Delta was increasing. across Texas.

What they found: Besides the dizzying difference in death rates, unvaccinated people are 13 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people.

• Vaccination has had a powerful protective effect on infections and deaths in people of all ages.

Inventory: Despite more than 10 days of declining hospital admissions, Austin public health officials said on Friday they would stay in step 3 COVID risk-based guidelines Before the holidays.

• “I know we’re tired,” said Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority. “We’ve been in this for two years. We’ve lost friends; we’ve lost family. As the virus continues to struggle to survive, we need to keep getting smarter, making sure we use every piece of data. who are available to us, make sure that we give the community the best possible information. “