COVID hospitalizations in NJ top 1,000 for first time since May
NEW JERSEY - New Jersey's COVID hospitalizations have topped 1,000 for the first time since May 11.
Governor Phil Murphy said that the state has come too far to go backward, and is urging any residents who have not been vaccinated yet to get the jab, saying the vaccines continue to be highly effective against hospitalization.
The spike in cases in New Jersey is being blamed on the highly transmissible delta variant, which currently accounts for 94% of all new COVID-19 cases found in New Jersey in the last four weeks.
According to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control, unvaccinated individuals are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated.
As of Tuesday, about 61% of Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine; 52% are fully vaccinated as cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to rise back to the levels of the earlier months of the pandemic.
RELATED: NJ to require COVID vaccine or regular tests for all school employees
Earlier this week, Murphy announced that New Jersey will require all school teachers, staff, and personnel for preschool through grade 12 to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Oct. 18 or to undergo COVID tests at least once a week.
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