95% of those who’ve died from COVID-19 in Wisconsin since March weren’t vaccinated or fully vaccinated, officials say – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Nearly all Wisconsinites who recently have died of COVID-19 wereunvaccinated or not fully vaccinated state health officials said Monday.

Andjust 1% of allconfirmed and probable COVID-19 cases since Jan. 1 have been among those who were fully vaccinated,a spokeswoman for thestate Department of Health Services said.

The stark news cameas Wisconsin finally reached a significant milestone Monday, with 50.1% of the state's population having received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Between March 1 and June 24, 95% of confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths were among those who weren't fully vaccinated, DHS spokeswoman Elizabeth Goodsitt said in an email.

Of the state's433 COVID-19 deaths during that time period, 412 involved people who were unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, while just 21 of those who died were people who were fully vaccinated, she said.

"The science is clear:vaccines work in the real world. They save lives," Goodsitt said. "And if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected. All three vaccines have been tested and proven to besafe and effective."

When it comes to COVID-19 cases statewide, just 1% of total confirmed and probable cases since Jan. 1 have been "breakthrough" cases, she said. A breakthrough case is someonewith apositive COVID-19 test 14 or more days after someone completed the vaccine series.

"We had 1,572 confirmed and probable cases meeting the breakthrough definition," Goodsitt said. "That is 1% of total confirmed and probable COVID cases since January 1, 2021 (143,000+), and among more than 2.9 million fully vaccinated people in our state."

"Take a look at theCOVID-19 dataand you will see that cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been declining since vaccines were authorized and we started getting shots in arms," Goodsitt added.

She acknowledged that some people may experience side effects after getting a shot. Those side effects may include fever, chills, tiredness, headaches, or pain in their arm where they got the vaccine.

"The vaccine not only works to fight off disease, but it reduces the risks for hospitalizations and deaths, and symptoms tend to be milder if someone does get sick after receiving the vaccine than if they didnt get one at all," Goodsitt said.

Earlier this month, Andy Slavitt, a former adviser to the Biden administration on COVID-19, suggested that 98% to 99% of the Americans dying of the coronavirus are unvaccinated.

And CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saidthat the vaccine is so effective that nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable. She called such deaths particularly tragic.

Drake Bentley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

Contact Mary Spicuzzaat (414) 224-2324 ormary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Followheron Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.

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95% of those who've died from COVID-19 in Wisconsin since March weren't vaccinated or fully vaccinated, officials say - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel