By Logan Rude
Apr 27, 2021 9:45 AM
MADISON, Wis. UW Health experts are pushing for the community to get vaccinated against COVID-19, citing a growing collection of evidence that vaccines are effective against the coronavirus.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other studies, there’s a stark difference in COVID-19 vulnerability between those who have and have not been vaccinated. One in 10 people without a vaccine have been infected with COVID-19, 9.5% of those infected have been hospitalized, and one out of every 56 people infected in the U.S. have died from their infections.
“There is simply no question that getting a COVID-19 vaccine will greatly reduce the risk of getting COVID-19, and will negate the intensity of COVID-19 symptoms,” UW Health Senior Medical Director Dr. Matt Anderson said. “The choice is clear.”
As safely as possible : Doctor weighs in on visiting vaccinated loved ones
However, there is a question about safety when visiting a loved one without being vaccinated yourself.
UW Health Senior Medical Director Dr. Matt Anderson said there’s no easy answer.
“When you do a visit, the risk is lower if you physically distance and mask within that visit,” UW Health Senior Medical Director Primary Care Dr. Matt Anderson said. “We recognize that not everybody may want to do that, but that is a lower risk situation. As we get more people vaccinated in the coming months, our rate of community spread is going to go down, risk is going to go down, so in the meantime those are things we would ask people to consider.”