New York Post

INSANITY!

These squares equal 161M vaxxed US residents So why the panic? Why new mask mandates? Why no common sense?

- By GABRIELLE FONROUGE and NATALIE O’NEILL

As panic reaches a fever pitch over the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, new data show there’s only a minuscule risk of vaccinated Americans becoming seriously sick with breakthrou­gh cases.

Out of 161 million US residents who were fully vaccinated as of July 19, just 5,601 caught a severe breakthrou­gh infection and were hospitaliz­ed — an infinitesi­mal 0.0035 percent of the protected population, according to the latest CDC figures available on post-vaccinatio­n infections.

When it comes to deaths, the risk is even lower, with just 1,141 vaccinated people dying from a COVID-19 breakthrou­gh infection — or 0.0007 percent of those fully jabbed.

Overall, the elderly were the most at risk of severe breakthrou­gh infection, with 74 percent of people who were hospitaliz­ed or died post-vaccinatio­n over the age of 65.

By contrast, 95.5 percent of total COVID-19 deaths and 97 percent of total hospitaliz­ations in

the US are among unvaccinat­ed people, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this month.

As of Thursday, 163.9 million US residents have been fully immunized against the virus, representi­ng about 49 percent of the population, CDC figures show. Fifty-seven percent of the population has received at least one dose.

While the total vaccinatio­n rate still remains below desired levels, the CDC on Tuesday issued new indoor-mask guidelines in virus hot spots in an effort to curb the spread of the Delta variant, which is the dominant strain in the US.

The agency also urged everyone in K-12 schools to wear a mask when returning to class in the fall, regardless of vaccinatio­n status.

gfonrouge@nypost.com,

 ??  ?? . . . of those, a tiny 5,601 caught ‘breakthrou­gh OVID’ and were hospitaliz­ed
. . . of those, a tiny 5,601 caught ‘breakthrou­gh OVID’ and were hospitaliz­ed
 ??  ?? And just 1,141 died, or .0007%
And just 1,141 died, or .0007%
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

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