Delta variant is infecting more fully vaccinated NJ residents

As the Delta variant continues to sweep across the Garden State, more fully vaccinated New Jersey residents are testing positive for the virus than with previous forms of COVID.

During the coronavirus update on Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said roughly 20% of all recent positive cases (between July 12 and July 19) were among fully vaccinated residents, but he stressed that a small number of them are becoming so seriously ill that they require hospitalization.

He said updated figures from the state Health Department show through July 19 there were 4.9 million fully vaccinated state residents and of these individuals, 6,381 have tested positive.

He said in only about half of these cases were any COVID symptoms reported.

The governor also said of the almost 5 million fully vaccinated Jersey residents, 0.004% have needed to be hospitalized for COVID.

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He noted a total of 50 fully vaccinated individuals have passed away, a total of 0.001%.

He said the vaccines can’t make COVID go away “but the vaccines are proving convincingly that they the likelihood of a minor COVID illness that much greater, and the chance of hospitalization or death that much less.”

In other words, the vaccines can turn COVID into "an illness on par with the flu.”

The governor noted a statistical breakdown of the fully vaccinated individuals hospitalized with COVID symptoms has not been completed yet but previous data suggests the majority of them had “an advanced vulnerability to the virus, due likely to age, or some other underlying health condition.”