Unvaccinated Are 15 Times More Likely To Die Of COVID: DHS

PHOENIX, AZ — Arizonans who were unvaccinated in October were 15 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated, according to a new report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The unvaccinated were also almost four times more likely to contract COVID-19 in the month of October, the department said in its report.

Across all age groups throughout the month of October the unvaccinated were more likely to contract and die from COVID-19 than those who were vaccinated, according to the report.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 814,374 cases of COVID-19 in Maricopa County and 12,987 deaths attributed to the disease in the county, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Maricopa County has what is considered a high transmission rate of COVID-19 with 277 cases per 100,000 people.

Across the state, there have been 22,779 deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic with 18 new deaths reported Wednesday. More than 1.3 million cases have been recorded in the state, with 3,500 new cases recorded Wednesday.

Slightly more than 63 percent of the state's population is fully vaccinated.