Maryland health leaders say 100 percent of new COVID deaths are in unvaccinated people

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - The vaccine is working. That’s the message from Maryland leaders, who highlighted new numbers Tuesday aiming to prove their point.

They said in the month of June, 100 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Maryland occurred in people who were unvaccinated, adding the same can be said for 95 percent of new COVID-19 cases and 93 percent of new COVID-19 hospitalizations.

"This is just proof of how effective the vaccines are, that if you are a fully vaccinated individual COVID-19 is not a threat to you," Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told FOX 5.

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But outside of a Charles County grocery store Tuesday, some people still didn’t want to hear it.

Asked whether the new numbers made her rethink her choice not to get vaccinated, Melanie Farrell said no, adding that the fear of the unknown scares her more than COVID. Joseph Dilsaver also said he’s unvaccinated and doesn’t plan on getting the shot anytime soon.

"Like a flu vaccine or a polio vaccine or smallpox or whatever, all that stuff was worked on over years and years and years and years so I feel like it’s actually been tested and safe, whereas this one was like, ‘alright we need the vaccine,’ and boom, here it is," Dilsaver explained.

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Meanwhile, others – like John Ward – felt differently.

"Just give it some thought," he said he’d tell people like Farrell and Dilsaver. "Even if you’re vaccinated you can get the virus, which means you might be able to transmit that to someone who is not vaccinated who may be in a compromised position."

Dr. Adalja added that it’s especially important to be vaccinated now as the U.S. faces more contagious variants.