92% of COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU have not completed vaccination
Barceló: “The figures are telling and show that the vaccine is the main asset we have against infection”
Monday 2nd August 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith
The regional health authority has found that nine out of ten patients admitted for coronavirus in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) of the Comunidad Valenciana during the week of July 19 to 25 had not completed the vaccination schedule against the infection. The rest of the patients in the ICU (5 people in absolute numbers) were fully vaccinated. These data align with the scientific studies on vaccine effectiveness published to date.
Thus, of the total number of ICU patients whose reason for admission during that week was the coronavirus disease, 92.1% (58 people) did not have a complete vaccination and only 7.9% had received a complete vaccination.
“The figures are telling and demonstrate once again that vaccination is the main asset we have against the coronavirus infection,” insisted the regional health secretary, Ana Barceló.
“The virus continues among us and we must continue to respect the indications to keep it at bay. People are still waiting to receive their first or second dose, and if the vaccinated dispense with the mask, they do not keep the safety distance or relax the hygiene of hands or ventilation, they can increase the transmission and [the number of] serious cases of COVID-19 among cohabitants, colleagues, friends and close contacts of those vaccinated with the full dosage,” she warned.
Regarding patients admitted to hospital due to the coronavirus disease, the percentage of people who have not received a complete vaccination is also much higher than that of those fully vaccinated and shows the effectiveness of the protection offered by the vaccine. Thus, eight out of ten, 81.4% of the people hospitalized for COVID-19, did not have a complete vaccination against the infection.
In these cases, it must be taken into account that hospital admission to ICU wards is not always due to the severity of the respiratory infection and there are times when it has a preventive aspect subject to medical criteria, to avoid possible complications.
Barceló added: “Vaccines work and clearly reduce the risk of serious hospitalization and death from COVID” and she has appealed to the public to continue going to the vaccination points “to continue raising a collective barrier that hinders the transmission of the virus and protects society as a whole, which is our maxim. Every day that we maintain and increase vaccination, the barrier becomes higher.”
