30% Of New CT COVID-19 Cases Are Fully Vaccinated: DPH

CONNECTICUT — In what might be described as a blow to Groton-based drugmaker Pfizer, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that coronavirus vaccine booster shots need only be administered to the elderly or infirm. The FDA is expected to make a decision based on the advisory committee's recommendations soon.

The decision Friday came after a review published in top medical journal, The Lancet, earlier in the week cited data insufficient to support any benefit of boosters to the general population.

Why get a booster? Studies earlier this year suggested vaccine protection against infection is waning, although the vaccines were still highly effective against hospitalization.

The Biden administration said it was ready to roll out booster shots once the FDA approval process was complete. Closer to home, the Connecticut Department of Public Health said it will continue to work with its federal partners, vaccine providers, and other stakeholders to be sure they are ready to provide boosters when these recommendations are finalized.

Will the timing derail the state's Vaccine Express? Unlikely, as that train has pretty much left the station. In Connecticut, 322,752 people have been partially vaccinated and 2,411,037 people have completed their vaccine series, as of Sept. 17. That means 76.5 percent of the population has received at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But that vaccine train has also lost much of its speed. It's clear that everyone in the state who is eligible for a jab and wants one, has gotten one. Most age tiers have barely gained a percentage point in new vaccinations a week, over the past few weeks of Department of Public Health data.

Canaan leads all Connecticut communities in vaccinations, having nearly 100 percent of its residents completed their series. On the other end, just over 35 percent of Mansfield has been fully vaccinated, as of Sept. 15

30% Of New Connecticut COVID-19 Cases Are Fully Vaccinated: DPH

Of the 2,627 coronavirus cases recorded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health in the most recent 7-day reporting period, 1,848 were not fully vaccinated. The remainder, 779, or 29.7 percent, had completed their vaccine series. The number of the fully vaccinated in Connecticut contracting the virus went down 1.4 percent over the past week.

DPH is also reporting that as of Thursday, 11,179 cases breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in the state have been confirmed, up from 9,875 last week. Eighty-three coronavirus-related deaths have occurred among those breakthrough cases, up from 70 the previous week.

These deaths represent 8.2 percent of all COVID-19 deaths since Feb. 9, according to the DPH report. Nearly 80 percent of the fatalities have been among patients 75 years of age and older.

From the start of the pandemic through Wednesday, of the 2,304,873 people in Connecticut who have completed their vaccine series, 0.49 percent have contracted the virus, up 0.06 percent from last week's report.

Nationwide, as of Sept. 13, 3,040 fully vaccinated people have died as a result of the virus, and 87 percent of them have been age 65 or older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC is also reporting there have been 12,750 hospitalizations of fully vaccinated people in the same time period, and 70 percent of those are 65 or older.

The charts above and below also shows the "relative risk," or the difference in risk when comparing rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons.

Although coronavirus deaths in Connecticut have declined markedly since February, it is important to note that death — and hospitalization — rates have consistently been higher among unvaccinated persons compared to fully vaccinated persons.

According to DPH, unvaccinated residents have a 5-times higher risk of being infected with, an 8-times higher risk of dying from, and are six times more likely to be hospitalized over COVID-19, compared to people vaccinated against the virus.

This week, the state Department of Public Health has reported 31 new deaths. Last week, DPH reported 22 news deaths. To date, 8,447 Connecticut residents have died from COVID-19-associated illness.

Hospitalizations were down over the past week, but climbed seven to 332 beds in the past 24 hours, according to DPH. Of those, 27.7 percent had been fully vaccinated against the virus.

The daily positivity rate spiked back up, to 4.33 percent, the highest it has been since the end of August. That's on the basis of 1,544 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Connecticut Department of Public Health overnight, after 36,572 tests.

See Also: CT TV News Anchor Tests Positive For COVID-19

• Here's When COVID-19 Booster Shots May Be Available In CT