August 9, 2021
Here at Coryell, we have found the unvaccinated population makes up 92% of COVID positive tests.
COVID-19 cases have been surging in Texas and nationally — mostly among unvaccinated people — as the highly contagious delta variant has become dominant. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 88% effective against symptomatic cases of the delta variant and 96% effective against hospitalizations, reports Yale Medicine. As of Monday, only 42.8% of Texans are fully vaccinated. According to the Mayo Clinic, Texas continues to lag behind the national vaccination rate of 48.8%.
Coryell County Health Authority and Coryell Health Medical Clinic Director, Dr. Diedra Wuenschel, says unvaccinated individuals are more likely to experience severe symptoms. Dr. Diedra Wuenschel states, “The increase in local COVID-19 cases in the unvaccinated population speaks for itself. The vaccinated patients that have gotten COVID-19 usually have minimal symptoms and rarely end up hospitalized. We are encouraging those that are struggling with vaccine hesitancy to speak to their local healthcare provider. Unfortunately, the Coryell County vaccination rate is estimated much lower than the Texas average at only 30%.”
David Byrom, Coryell Health CEO, explains, “Our concern is not just about the Coronavirus death rate, it is also about how healthcare facilities are reaching their maximum capacity of healthcare workers available to take care of patients. Beds do not take care of patients, people do. What we want our patients to understand is if hospitals are filled to capacity with COVID-19 positive patients, there might not be room (or space may be limited) for heart attack patients or car crash victims. The science and advice from our trusted Coryell Health physicians all add up to one consistent message – getting the vaccine is the safest way to put this pandemic behind us.”
To schedule a vaccine for you or a loved one, please visit our website www.coryellhealthb.wpengine.com/vaccine.
Resources
https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html