COVID-19 in other countries 2021

I suspect that the 80% number is more about politics and the pressure to open up.

While 80% was initially touted as a herd immunity number, that was before Delta took hold. And the original 80% was a proportion of the entire population, not the current measure of eligible people - aged 16 and over.

While the 80% double vaccinated will be a limited reopening, places like Singapore and Israel show us that we still need to go carefully.

 

Israel requires COVID-19 booster shots for stricter vaccine passport

Israel has updated the terms of its COVID-19 green pass to allow only those who have received a vaccine booster dose, or recently recuperated from coronavirus, to enter indoor venues.

The new criteria means existing vaccination passports will become non-functioning for nearly 2 million people in the coming days.

Israel is the first country to make a booster shot a requirement for its digital vaccination passport, to encourage booster vaccination among those yet to receive a third dose.

Under the new guidelines, people must have received a booster shot to be eligible for a green pass.

Those who have received two vaccine doses, and those who have recovered from coronavirus, will be issued passes valid for six months after the date of their third booster shot or recovery.

From this week, store owners and event organisers will be required to scan a customer's digital barcode before allowing entry, but museums and libraries are among the few that are exempt.

...​

 

I was asked by someone about the UK - so looked into their figures:







Deaths and hospitalisations do seem to have peaked in the UK ... although they still currently have around 101.2 people in hospital per million population, while here in Australia we have 55.9 people per million.

Interestingly - we are rapidly catching the UK in vaccinations - they are only at 72% of the whole population who have had at least one dose - while we're at 68.5% and should pass 72% within the next week or two.

Whole population percentages:

 

Interesting to see the rate of vaccination in Australia vs the US and UK.

The vaccine does per 100 people


And the percentage of fully vaccinated

 

Yes, for quite some time now, we've been vaccinating at a higher rate (per capita) than the UK or US ever achieved:



I wonder if the recent uptick in the US is from 3rd doses?

 

Here's some data from the US on hospitalisation and death for vaccinated vs unvaccinated
New CDC data shows the risk of dying from Covid-19 is 11 times higher for unvaccinated adults than for fully vaccinated adults - CNN

 

The article I've quoted is just slightly more up to date. It refers to data up to the end of August, the table shows up to mid July. They don't give a reference to the source data. Tours seems to be the most recent publicly available.

Regardless, the differences are small, and the difference in rates between cases, hospitalisations and deaths in vaccinated and unvaccinated is dramatic.

The US was around 50% fully vaccinated by the end of July.