Just a handful of patients who tested positive for COVID at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this year were fully vaccinated.
The hospital system found four patients who should have had their full immunity, which comes two weeks after the last dose. One of them died, though not from COVID, VUMC says in a release. Some of the others had mild symptoms and were being treated for other illnesses.
“For anyone who has hesitated to get vaccinated against COVID-19, these hospital admissions data can’t help but paint a very clear picture,” says Dr. Tom Talbot, VUMC’s chief epidemiologist.
Vaccinations in Tennessee have been tapering off, and the state already had among the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
Aside from releasing hospitalization data to encourage more update, frontline staff have been recording testimonials.
“I have seen so many patients who have come through the ICU who did not make it. I saw what they went through. And it’s not something I would want anybody else to go through,” says Dr. Modupe Kehinde, a pulmonary specialist at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital.
Of Vanderbilt’s 1,833 COVID patients since Dec. 1, 29 were partially vaccinated. The rest hadn’t had any of their shots.
