Highly Vaccinated U.S. States Keep COVID Cases Low

In the first big test of vaccines during a COVID-19 surge, places with higher vaccination rates are dodging the worst outcomes so far, while cases and hospitalizations surge in less-vaccinated areas, Brianna Abbott, John Kamp, Kara Depena and Randy Yelp reported for Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Photo Insert: Ultra-cold freezer with vaccines

There are more tests yet to come, including when cold weather forces people in the well-vaccinated Northeast back indoors. But as the highly contagious Delta strain tears through the country, the trends thus far suggest vaccines can turn COVID-19 into a less dangerous, more manageable disease.

“Vaccines definitely make a difference,” said David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

A WSJ analysis shows sharp geographic divides in vaccination and hospitalization levels, with every state that has an above-average vaccine rate showing below-average hospitalizations, including in well-vaccinated New England.

In the South, meanwhile, fewer people are vaccinated on average and hospitalization rates are climbing faster.

The Delta-driven surge is unlike its predecessors in the US because the variant spreads more easily and because it is confronting a partially vaccinated population. The US needed an extra month to reach President Biden’s goal of getting 70% of adults at least one shot by July 4.

While vaccination rates are picking up, most states remain behind that mark.

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