ARIZONA, USA — A report recently released by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) shows what health officials have been reporting since COVID-19 vaccines were made available: that people who are unvaccinated against the virus have a greater risk of testing positive for and dying from the virus.
Arizonans who choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine are 15.2 times more likely to die from the virus and 3.9 times more at risk of testing positive for the virus, the data from ADHS shows.
The report was recently released on the ADHS website and begins on June 20 to represent when Delta became the dominant strain of the virus in the state.
"The biggest takeaway from this report is that every week and across all age groups, people who were unvaccinated had a greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and a greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than people who were fully vaccinated," the department said in a press release.
RELATED: Arizona hospitals facing challenges with healthcare delivery and it's not just due to COVID-19
Hospitals throughout the state are continuing to face a harsh reality as cases continue to increase. The ADHS dashboard reported that only 5% of inpatient beds and 6% of ICU beds remain open.
“If the surge which is currently at exponential growth continues at its current pace, this will become a very dire situation,” said Banner Health's Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Marjorie Bessel during a Thursday press conference.
Coronavirus in Arizona
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