Myth: vaccinated can’t get sick; COVID shots still good idea, Yavapai County health officials say

It is a myth that if you are vaccinated for COVID-19, you won’t get sick.

“Since vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, some people who are fully vaccinated will get COVID-19,” the Yavapai County Community Health Services reported Monday, Oct. 18. “These are known as breakthrough cases and are expected with all vaccinations.”

However, getting vaccinated for COVID-19 reduces the risk of getting the virus and helps protect you from severe illness even if you do get sick, YCCHS stated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to monitor how well the vaccines are working and “so far studies show that the COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of severe illness, among people who are fully vaccinated.”

Yavapai County reported Monday that there were 88 additional COVID-19 cases and zero deaths since Sunday (YCCHS previously reported incorrect numbers, submitting a corrected number of 88 on Tuesday). The county has tested 92,621 residents for COVID-19 in the past six months, and there have been 27,445 positive cases and 664 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

On Monday, Yavapai Regional Medical Center reported 44 COVID-19 patients, Verde Valley Medical Center reported 19, and the Prescott VA has three COVID-19 patients.

YCCHS Assistant Director stated Yavapai County is still experiencing high transmission of COVID-19 with a 12.7% positivity and 198 cases per 100,000 residents for the week ending Oct. 3.

ARIZONA

Across the state, there have been 1,131,976 cases of COVID since the pandemic began, with 20,500 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.

In Arizona, 58.3% of people have been vaccinated; 46.6% have been vaccinated in Yavapai County, according to ADHS.

GETTING SHOTS

To be vaccinated, appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine can be made through www.yavapaiaz.gov/chs or www.vaccine.gov. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or what seems to be a bad cold, please get tested for COVID-19 and/or flu, the YCCHS states.

Testing sites: https://yavapaiaz.gov/Portals/39/COVID-19/TestingSitesinYavapaiCounty.pdf.

ADHS COVID-19 Hotline: 844-542-8201 (select Option 8) – helps in English and Spanish from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, except for major holidays.

Information on boosters also is posted at azdhs.gov/Boosters.

Information on Monoclonal Antibodies in English: ADHS - Everyone – Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) (azdhs.gov), and in Spanish: ADHS - Todos – Anticuerpos Monoclonales (azdhs.gov).

Due to scheduled database maintenance with ADHS COVID-19 dashboard (www.azdhs.gov/covid19) there will not be posted updated cases, deaths, hospitalization, or testing numbers on Sunday or Monday, Oct. 17-18. The dashboard is still available, with vaccine and hospital numbers related to utilization (such as beds and ventilators) continuing to update, but other numbers will remain the same until the maintenance is complete, ADHS and YCCHS officials said.