Even as the highly transmissible Delta variant rampages through the country, there’s a bit of good news: As of last week, more people in the United States are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 than unvaccinated. Vaccination rates are finally on a rise again after a slump in the summer months of June and July.

The Delta variant has been causing a surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the country, and public health experts have observed that areas with high vaccination rates are better protected than areas where few people are vaccinated.

Today, the 5 most vaccinated states (14M people) had

580 people in hospital, 12 deaths

In the 5 least vaccinated states (16M people)?

6,600 hospitalized, 104 deaths

Per capita , least vaccinated states have

10X hospitalizations and 7X deaths

So yeah, vaccines are working

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) August 10, 2021

The reason behind the recent uptick in vaccinations are many: Former anti-vaxxers who have become seriously ill with the virus are now urging people to get vaccinated. Vaccine mandates are becoming more common: Hospitals, government agencies, and large private companies such as McDonalds are requiring vaccinations for employees. New York City has started asking people to show proof of vaccination to dine indoors, go to gyms and entertainment venues.

As experts point out, kids have a higher a chance of being protected when adults around them are vaccinated.

Actually, while vaccination rates for kids under 12 are identical (0%) across states,

Infection numbers are not

In Massachusetts, about 250 kids under 10 years of age infected last week

In Florida, it was about 9,000

In Louisiana, it was about 1600

3/5

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) August 3, 2021

If you're one of the many Americans who recently got vaccinated, we want to hear your story. You can share it here. 

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