Facebook Twitter
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 | 
Coronavirus U.S. & World

You’re 20 times more likely to die from COVID if you’re unvaccinated, study finds

New Texas research found unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from the coronavirus

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE You’re 20 times more likely to die from COVID if you’re unvaccinated, study finds
Dr. William Dittrich looks over a COVID-19 patient at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, on Aug. 31, 2021. New research has found that unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from the coronavirus.

In this Aug. 31, 2021, file photo, Dr. William Dittrich M.D. looks over a COVID-19 patient in the Medical Intensive care unit (MICU) at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.

Kyle Green, Associated Press

Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated people, according to new state research from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The researchers analyzed electronic lab reports, death certifications and immunization information to find unvaccinated people were more at risk for death from COVID-19, per CBS Austin.

  • Unvaccinated people were 20 times more likely to die.
  • Unvaccinated people were 12 times more likely to be infected compared to those who are fully vaccinated.

Austin-Travis County Health Authority Desmar Walkes said people should continue to practice measures to fight COVID-19 because of these numbers.

  • “I know we’re tired,” Walkes said, per Austonia.com. “We’ve been in this for two years. We’ve lost friends; we’ve lost family. As the virus continues to struggle to survive, we have to continue to get smarter, make sure that we’re using every piece of data that is at our disposal, make sure that we’re giving the community the best information possible.”

Fully vaccinated people can still get COVID-19. These are called “breakthrough cases.” But, as I recently wrote for the Deseret News, new research shows fully vaccinated people don’t get as sick from COVID-19. And those who are fully vaccinated are less likely to die.

  • “Although breakthrough infection increased risk of death, vaccination remained protective against death in persons who became infected during the Delta surge,” researchers wrote in a new report, which was published in the medical journal Science.