CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released new data in the weekly respiratory surveillance report showing that unvaccinated people were 15.4 times, or 1,540%, more likely to die from COVID-19 during the four-week period ending Aug. 21, 2021.
This data comes as the state hit a pandemic high on Aug. 26 with 912 adults in the ICU with COVID-19. The number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators also reached a record high at 574.
During the week ending Aug. 21, 2021, NC DHHS said unvaccinated people were also 4.4 times, or 440%, more likely to catch COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
"The vast majority of people dying with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. If you are not vaccinated please don’t wait until it is too late," Mandy K. Cohen, M.D., Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services, said. "The authorized and approved vaccines have been through rigorous clinical trials and met scientific standards. Millions of North Carolinians have been safely vaccinated."
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NC DHHS said there were 29 deaths among unvaccinated persons younger than 65, compared with one death among vaccinated persons younger than 65 during the four-week time period. There were 30 deaths among unvaccinated persons older than 65, compared with seven deaths among vaccinated persons older than 65.
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