Reproduced from CDC; Note: Data represents 30% of Americans across 16 jurisdictions: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York City, Seattle/King County, Wash., Utah and Wisconsin; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios
The CDC recently published data evaluating Americans' rate of coronavirus cases and deaths by vaccine status, providing more data on which vaccines are working best and how much protection they offer relative to being unvaccinated.
What they found: As of August, unvaccinated people had a more than six times higher risk of testing positive for the coronavirus, and were more than 11 times more likely to die from the virus.
Between the lines: Among vaccinated people, those who received the J&J vaccine had the highest risk of infection and death. Those who received the Moderna vaccine had the lowest.
- As the Delta variant surged, breakthrough cases became more common — which stands to reason.
- But these higher rates also explain some of the urgency behind giving some Americans booster shots, particularly older and more vulnerable individuals.
Go deeper: COVID-19 booster shots overtake first doses in the U.S.
