Although vaccines are proving more than 99.99% effective against hospitalization for Covid-19 and related diseases, many people refuse to get vaccinated and New Jersey reported 369 daily coronavirus hospitalizations on Wednesday, with 26 of those patients on ventilators.
New daily diagnoses of COVID-19 have topped those recorded last year on several days over the past month, and hospitalizations have risen 20% in the past two weeks.
The number of coronavirus hospitalizations topped 300 for the first time in a month, according to the state health department.
The rise in pandemic statistics coincided with a new recent high in cases, as more than 650 new infections were reported for the first time since the middle of May.
Officials claim the Delta Variant is partially to blame because the mutation is more easily transmitted than other strains of the new virus but also, they say victims themselves are responsible.
New data shows COVID-19 cases remain extremely rare among New Jerseyans who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Health officials are concerned about children’s vulnerability as the more infectious delta strain continues to spread.
Only one of the three vaccines is approved by U.S. regulators for children age 12 and up. Trials for possible use in younger children continue.
Dr. Ed Lifshitz, director of New Jersey’s communicable disease service, reported Monday that fewer than 3,500 — or less than 0.08% — of the more than 4.4 million people vaccinated by June 28 have later tested positive for the virus, so-called breakthrough cases.
The shots are even more effective against severe sickness and mortality, according to Lifshitz, who said that just 84 immunized individuals have been hospitalized and only 31 died.
More than 5 million New Jerseyans have been inoculated against the coronavirus so far, but vaccination rates differ by age, ethnicity and geography, among other factors.
While 70% of residents over age 30 have had at least one shot, according to state health officials, the rate is 61% among those 18 – 29 and just 42% for those age 12 to 17 years.
Officials say the pandemic is not as severe at it was at other times since March 2020, but the coronavirus continues to spread in New Jersey and in all other states, primarily among unvaccinated individuals.