Unvaccinated are the more likely to end up in hospital
THE number of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients in Welsh hospitals with Covid-19 has been revealed in new statistics.
Data from Public Health Wales shows that of the 544 people in hospital with the virus on December 2, more than three-quarters (76.1%) had been doubled-jabbed, 3.5% had received only one dose and 16.5% were unvaccinated. The majority of Covid-19 patients at the time were over 60.
Given more than 95% of the age groups and vulnerable populations most likely to need hospital treatment for Covid have been double vaccinated, it clearly shows that having both jabs significantly reduces your risk of being hospitalised with Covid and that the unvaccinated are disproportionately significantly affected by Covid.
Separate data from November 1 on the same report from Public Health Wales suggests you are around three times more likely to need hospital treatment if you haven’t had a Covid jab than if you have.
On that date there were 244 vaccinated 18-60-year-olds in hospital out of 1.4m in Wales who’ve had a jab. That’s a rate of 17 in every 100,000 people. In comparison there were 155 unvaccinated people in hospital with Covid out of 308,000 who haven’t had a jab. That’s a rate of 50 in every 100,000 people – three times higher.
Public Health Wales doesn’t publish vaccination status of people in intensive care because of the age of the people needing such treatment.
Research however has shown that vaccines are at their most effective at preventing people from developing serious illness.
The report showed that on December 2, of the 395 Covid patients in hospital at the time who were over the age of 60, 86.8% of the hospital cases had had both doses of the vaccine, 2.8% one dose and 9.9% no doses. In contrast, a far higher proportion of 95% of the wider population of over 60s have been double vaccinated.
Of the 127 patients in hospital between the ages of 18 and 60 with Covid, just over half (55.9%) had been double-jabbed, 5.5% had received one dose, and 36.2% were unvaccinated. There are huge differences between the vaccination rates in the different age groups in the 18-60 bracket so direct comparisons with the wider population are difficult. But around 90% of 50-59-year-olds have been double jabbed and over 80% of over 40s. Some 22 patients under the age of 18 were also in hospital with Covid-19 on December 2, but the vaccination status was described as “unknown” in 16 of them.
As a significant majority of adults in Wales have now received at least two doses of the Covid vaccine, experts say that it is inevitable a significant proportion of people in hospital will be fully vaccinated. However the data clearly demonstrates that people are far more likely to need an admission to hospital should they have received no jab at all.
Following the emergence of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, there are now fears hospital admissions will spike in the coming weeks as more people are infected.
A study from the UK Health Security
Agency (UKHSA) shows that people with the mutant strain are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants. However, a milder virus could still put pressure on hospitals because it spreads so fast.
Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UKHSA, said: “Our latest analysis shows an encouraging early signal that people who contract the Omicron variant may be at a relatively lower risk of hospitalisation than those who contract other variants.
“Cases are currently very high in the UK, and even a relatively low proportion requiring hospitalisation could result in a significant number of people becoming seriously ill.”
Welsh NHS staff and volunteers are now aiming to offer a booster dose of the vaccine to all eligible adults by the end of December.