More Vaccinated Than Unvaccinated Proportionately Caught Covid Last Week According to LA County Health Department Data

February 24, 2022 - Data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health show that last week the vaccinated were 6.3% more likely to catch Covid-19 than the unvaccinated. This is at least the second week in which numbers dipped the wrong direction for proponents of the idea that it is the unvaccinated who are the main transmitters of the virus.

Here are the raw numbers:

Total fully vaccinated population: 7,185,622 (71.8% of the county population)

Total number of new infections week ending February 22: 19,288 cases

Number of infections involving vaccinated people: 15,066 cases

78.1% of the new cases last week occurred in vaccinated individuals, using the above data taken from the LADPH website. Vaccinated individuals make up 71.8% of the population. If the vaccines had no effect whatsover on transmission, one would expect the number of new cases among the vaccinated to match that of their presence in the population, or 71.8%. Instead, 78.1% of new cases were among the vaccinated, meaning the vaccine conferred a negative benefit, or a higher chance of infection, of 6.3%. That is 71.8-78.1.

Admittedly, during some weeks, the vaccines show a positive benefit. The week ending February 15 saw a 35.9% less chance of infection among the vaccinated. But that was an outlier case. In looking at the average benefit of the vaccines in preventing infection since June 1, when such data became publicly available, one finds only an average 7.3% benefit, or lesser chance of infection, for the fully vaccinated. At the end of January, this average benefit was as high as 9.7%, in one could call that high. In one month, the average benefit dropped 2.4%.

New Health Department regulations are allowing the vaccinated to unmask indoors in certain situations while the unvaccinated have to remain masked. In her media briefing today, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, claimed "it's a safer environment" when the unvaccinated have to remain masked and show proof of a negative Covid-19 test because "they get infected at a lower rate."

If one is talking about "safer" in terms of having less chance of encountering Covid-19, then the health department's own data suggests this is hardly the case or, if it is, it is not a safer to very significant degree.