NC data: 90+% of those who got COVID in 2021 were unvaccinated

In North Carolina, 907,665 cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the first of the year. Of those, 91% were in people who had not been vaccinated, according to the latest Respiratory Surveillance report from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Posted 10:03 p.m. Oct 21, 2021 — Updated 12:03 a.m. Oct 22, 2021

RALEIGH, N.C. — In North Carolina, 907,665 cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the first of the year. Of those, 91% were in people who had not been vaccinated, according to the latest Respiratory Surveillance report from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Over time, the number and percentage of cases detected in those who have been vaccinated continues to climb, the report notes. In the week ending Oct. 9, one in five people who tested positive for coronavirus in North Carolina had been vaccinated. To date in 2021, 82,962 "post-vaccination" cases have been diagnosed, most of them mild or asymptomatic.

"Even with highly effective vaccines, the number of post-vaccination cases is expected to rise as virus transmission goes up and as more people are vaccinated," the report explained.

The report shows a spike in emergency room visits and hospital admissions for COVID-like illnesses through August and September, with the number trending back down as October began.

Of the almost 11,000 people who have died in the state of COVID-19 so far this year, 645 – about 6% – had been vaccinated.

The vast majority of deaths come in those who have not had the shot. Unvaccinated individuals in North Carolina were 423% more likely to get COVID-19 and more than 20 times more likely to die of the virus.

Through Wednesday, 68% of eligible North Carolinians had gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 64% fully vaccinated.

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