Four D.C. residents who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 died of the virus, out of more than 375,000 fully vaccinated residents.
D.C. health officials gave an update Thursday as the highly contagious delta variant spreads in the region and across the United States.
The four fully vaccinated D.C. residents who died of COVID-19 were elderly or had serious medical conditions, health officials said. A total of 200 fully vaccinated people tested positive for the virus in breakthrough cases. Thirteen of those people needed to be hospitalized.
People who are unvaccinated still account for most new cases.
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Dr. Ankoor Shah of the health department said the data boosted his confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.
“We have over 375,000 D.C. residents who are fully vaccinated. Only 0.05% have had a breakthrough infection. Only four have, unfortunately, passed away. No vaccine is 100% effective, but this vaccine continues to show it is highly effective in preventing COVID-19, preventing severe illness leading to hospitalization and preventing death,” Shah said.
While the delta variant accounts for the majority of new cases nationally, it accounts for just about 1% of new cases in D.C., officials said. They cautioned, though, that the data is preliminary.
Data in D.C., Maryland and Virginia shows the seven-day rolling averages of new COVID-19 cases have risen in recent weeks. On June 22, the average in D.C. was 9. A month later, it’s 41. Maryland went from a daily average of 62 cases per day to 196 now. In Virginia, the jump was from 110 to 315.
