A local professor of virology and immunology says the majority of people in hospital with COVID-19 around the world are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or their immune response is not as strong as others due to underlying health issues.
Rod Russell was responding to the increase in COVID hospitalizations in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As of yesterday, there were 14 people in hospital in this province—half of those in critical care. That’s the highest number of hospitalizations the province has seen since the start of the pandemic—despite the fact that most adults over the age of 12 are now vaccinated.
Russell says while vaccination rates are high, there is still a portion of the population that remains unvaccinated, “and that’s more than enough to keep this virus circulating.” That means the province will see cases in people who are unvaccinated, and those who are vaccinated as well.
That’s led some people to conclude that it doesn’t matter whether you get vaccinated or not. That’s not true says Russell.
He says the super power of the vaccine, is in preventing people from getting really sick. The large majority of people in hospital with COVID around the world are unvaccinated according to Russell.