Photo: AFP
Like much of the nation, San Diego County has reported a spike in the number of coronavirus cases over the past month, with 6,572 people testing positive between June 21 and July 20, 2021. Officials say that of the new cases, 11% are people who are already fully vaccinated, while 89% of them were not.
“A vast majority of the increase in cases are from those who are unvaccinated and they account for nearly all of the hospitalizations. The way to slow the increase and protect yourself is to trust your doctor and get a vaccine” said San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair, Nathan Fletcher.
The county also reports that community outbreaks, hospitalizations and ICU admission has increased significantly. 98% of hospitalizations in the last 30 days are for individuals who were not fully vaccinated. “In the last few weeks, individuals who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were seven times more likely to contract the virus,” said Dr. Seema Shah, medical director of HHSA’s Epidemiology and Immunization Services branch. “The more infectious Delta variant is on its way to becoming the dominant strain among San Diego County residents and a single dose of the vaccine is only about 30% effective in protecting people from getting sick.”
To date, almost 150,000 San Diegans have only received a partial vaccination and are overdue for the second shot.