Several studies, including ones referenced in the CDC’s presentation, have shown that vaccines remain effective against the Delta variant, particularly against hospitalization and death. That has held true in the real world: About 97 percent of those recently hospitalized by the virus
were unvaccinated, the CDC said. But in counties where vaccination rates are low, cases are rising fast, and deaths are also on the rise.
In the United Kingdom, the Delta variant became the main form of the virus in May, when a large share of the population had already been vaccinated. Three months later, virus cases are
on a downward trend after reaching
a level almost as high as the country’s highest-ever peak in January. Deaths have not reached anywhere near previous peaks, a sign that the U.K. vaccine rollout, which prioritized residents by age, protected many of the country’s most vulnerable by the time the Delta variant fueled a surge.
Counties with low vaccination rates continue to bear the brunt of the highly contagious Delta variant, and some are seeing their highest case rates of the entire pandemic.
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