New data shows COVID-19 cases and vaccines status

A new data webpage, COVID-19 Illness After Vaccination, is now available, which includes a visualization showing the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths per 100,000 among individuals, who are fully vaccinated vs. individuals who are not fully vaccinated.

By displaying the rates side-by-side, users can clearly see the difference in rates between these two groups. The overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites who are infected with COVID-19, are not fully vaccinated.

“With the Delta variant, an infected person is likely to infect about five people, who are then likely to infect 25 people, for a total of 30 cases from one infection,” said Department of Health Services secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “The COVID-19 vaccines are still doing their job by stopping the spread of many new infections and by preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death.”

People who were not fully vaccinated in July, were nearly three times more likely to test positive for COVID-19. Additionally, they were hospitalized for COVID-19-related illnesses at a rate 2.7 times higher than people who are fully vaccinated. Those who are fully vaccinated also saw a 10fold reduction in risk of dying from COVID-19, compared to not fully vaccinated people.

However, because no vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing infection, the health departments expect some infections among fully vaccinated people. Fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID-19 more than two weeks after their completed vaccine dose series, are called breakthrough infections.

The not fully vaccinated population includes all Wisconsin residents, with no COVID-19 vaccine doses reported in the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR), an incomplete COVID-19 vaccine series, and those who have not completed the two weeks following vaccination, to build full immunity.