HARTFORD, Conn. — All the major COVID metrics in Connecticut are heading in the right direction. Infections, hospitalizations and deaths are all down. But there’s also a curious statistic: The breakdown of those hospitalized with COVID is now about a 50/50 split between the fully vaccinated and those who are not.
About a month ago, before omicron took off, about 79% of the people hospitalized with COVID were not fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, that number is about 55%.
The percentage of fully vaccinated people in the hospital with COVID is on the rise, but Hartford HealthCare cautioned it’s a statistic that can be deceiving.
"They are not ending up in the hospital for COVID they are in the hospital for different reasons and we are picking up COVID," said Dr. Ulysses Wu of Hartford HealthCare.
Wu told FOX61 they COVID test everyone who comes into the hospital. He said between 30-50% of the people who test positive for COVID were asymptomatic and came in seeking treatment for a completely different ailment. In other words, they are ending up in the hospital with COVID but not for COVID.
"Omicron is becoming that common cold, more mild illness where people may not have any symptoms at all and we are just picking it up," explained Wu.
Connecticut Dept. of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said it’s a numbers game. The more infectious nature of omicron, coupled with a still relatively low uptake of booster shots and waning immunity in vulnerable populations all contributes to more breakthrough cases.
"If you look at people who are in the hospital, who are vaccinated, many of them are our immunocompromised and oldest patients. So we know that in general, their response to vaccines is going to be lower," explained Juthani.
What it doesn’t mean is that the vaccines have stopped working. It just means that instead of vaccines being able to eradicate this virus, they will likely just be a tool used to help us live with it.
"I think what is very clear is this virus is not going anywhere. It is here to stay and that’s really what endemic means," she explained.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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