Cape Town – The Western Cape government’s latest Covid-19 statistics clearly reveals why vaccines remain the most effective weapon against the coronavirus.
When it came to contracting the coronavirus, hospitalisations and deaths, over 92% in each instance were people who were not fully vaccinated, the province’s Department of Health’s statistics showed.
Data of cases diagnosed with Covid-19 in those over the age of 60 during the week of August 14-20, when the Western Cape was in its peak of the third wave of infections, shows:
- 2 455 contracted Covid-19, of which 92% of people were NOT fully vaccinated
- 729 people required hospitalisation, with 96% NOT fully vaccinated
- 292 people died due to Covid-19, but 98.3% were NOT fully vaccinated
’’From this data it is clear that vaccines are highly effective, and that getting fully vaccinated will help protect you from ending up in hospital or dying,’’ the Western Cape Department of Health said.
’’While the vaccine is not 100% effective, results of the current vaccines in use indicate they are both safe and highly effective and offer excellent protection against severe disease and death.’’
Most recent statistics show that 57% of the age group in the province are fully vaccinated, defined as over 14 days after their second Pfizer injection or over 28 days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson jab.
The Western Cape Covid-19 dashboard confirmed 12 880 current active cases in the province, with 19 510 fatalities and 483 059 recoveries.
In the last 24 hours, 386 new cases have been diagnosed, while a total of 2 567 114 vaccinations have been administered.
Data analysis per region of those in the age bracket of 60 years and older where Covid-19 was diagnosed during August 14-20:
Cape Metro
- 1 413 cases were diagnosed, of which 90% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 433 cases needed hospitalisation, of which 94,7% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 177 deaths were recorded, of which 97% were NOT fully vaccinated.
Of the few cases of deaths of those fully vaccinated, investigations found it was due to Covid-19 itself (a ’’breakthrough’’ severe infection), in patients who were very elderly and/or with comorbidities. It was not caused by the vaccine, the department said..
Cape Winelands
- 299 cases were diagnosed, of which 91% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 85 cases needed hospitalisation, of which 98,8% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 42 deaths were recorded, of which NONE were fully vaccinated – this means 100% of reported deaths were NOT fully vaccinated
Central Karoo
- 46 cases were diagnosed, of which 96% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 19 cases needed hospitalisation, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of admissions were NOT fully vaccinated
- 7 deaths were recorded, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of reported deaths were NOT fully vaccinated
Garden Route
- 333 cases were diagnosed, of which 96% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 96 cases needed hospitalization, 95,8% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 31 deaths were recorded, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of reported deaths were NOT fully vaccinated
Overberg
- 132 cases were diagnosed, of which 95% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 36 cases needed hospitalization, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of admissions were NOT fully vaccinated
- 11 deaths were recorded, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of reported deaths were NOT fully vaccinated
West Coast
- 207 cases were diagnosed, of which 94% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 57 cases needed hospitalisation, of which 96,5% were NOT fully vaccinated
- 23 deaths were recorded, of which NONE were fully vaccinated - this means 100% of deaths were NOT fully vaccinated
IOL