New Rise in COVID Cases Shows That, Yes, the Vaccines Work

NBC News reports that COVID cases are climbing again following a steep drop and then a leveling-off for several weeks. But doctors say patients in this wave are younger and not as ill. Frederick Davis at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Hospital says not only are cases requiring hospitalization nowhere near the "astronomical" levels from a year ago, but most cases are mild. More than 73 percent of people older than 65 has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly half are fully vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday stated that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are 90 percent effective against the virus in real-world conditions, with growing immunity illustrated by the shift in age groups most likely to seek care for COVID. The CDC said nationally, "the number of 25-to-49-year-olds visiting U.S. emergency departments for diagnosed COVID-19 is now higher than the number of visits among patients 65 and older."