Most Minnesotans who tested positive for COVID in December 2021 were vaccinated, as well as nearly one-third of those who were hospitalized with COVID or died, according to “breakthrough” data compiled by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDE).
A Twin Cities Pioneer Press report on the data was published Saturday with the headline “Majority of MN COVID cases are now among the vaccinated. Here’s why the shot is still worth it” — which led to screenshots and mockery of the headline going viral among conservative social media users this past weekend.
The highly infectious omicron variant of COVID was responsible for skyrocketing case numbers around the United States from mid-December to mid-January. Omicron was so virulent that vaccination appeared to provide little to no protection against infection, though health officials continue to insist the vaccine provides significant protection against severe illness and death.
As of Jan. 9, approximately 10% of all vaccinated Minnesotans had tested positive for COVID, while just 0.26% of them have been hospitalized and 0.045% have died.
The MDE also provides three reasons for high numbers of “breakthrough” cases:
- “Waning immunity among people vaccinated earliest. These people are also more likely to be older, have comorbidities, or work in a setting that puts them at higher risk for COVID-19.”
- “The more transmissible Delta variant may be playing a role that we don’t fully understand yet.”
- “People are returning to various states of normalcy — this will result in varying levels of disease transmission and test seeking behaviors.”
Alpha News also reported earlier this month that nearly half of COVID patients in the CentraCare system were vaccinated. Out of the 83 individuals hospitalized in the system with COVID on Jan. 31, 40 were vaccinated.
The emergence of all this data appears to undercut the notion, which mostly comes from the mouths of Democratic leaders and politicians, that the unvaccinated are uniquely responsible for spreading COVID and perpetuating the pandemic.
The good news is that new daily COVID cases have been falling just as quickly as they rose.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
