Dr. Crabtree: Our data is clear, vaccines are effective and safe

The attached interview above is from SDPB's daily public-affairs show, In the Moment.

South Dakota reports another record number of people with COVID-19. The state Department of Health says 36,247 people are currently infected.

392 people are currently hospitalized with the disease — that number has risen by about 100 in the last month.

This is happening as hundreds of clinical staff are out ill with the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The state’s major hospital systems are urging stronger preventative measures to slow the spread of the disease.

Sanford Health

Doctor Joshua Crabtree is the senior vice president of clinical operations at Sanford Health. He says data about the effectiveness of the vaccine is clear.

"I want people to understand that it works, that it's safe, and even though there is some information out there that our vaccine may not have as significant efficacy against the omicron as it did against delta and the alpha variants, we know that when you've had a vaccination series, and then you have been boosted, we know those people are much less likely to get severe illness than those who have not."

Healthcare systems around the state report that about 90 percent of their patients ill with COVID are NOT vaccinated.

The state reports about 57 percent of eligible South Dakotans are fully vaccinated against the disease, and nearly 200,000 have received booster shots.
Information on free vaccines is available at vaccines.gov.

Data update

• State’s death toll: 2,606 (+5 from the previous report)
  
  • Note: 'Death toll' indicates the number of deaths among people with COVID, but COVID may not have been the sole cause of death.
  • Deaths verifiably caused by COVID: 2,291 (updated weekly)
• Active cases: 36,247 (+1,051)
  
• Eligible South Dakotans fully vaccinated: 56.64% (+0.04)
  
• Currently hospitalized: 392 (-5)