In March, people who are fully vaccinated contracted COVID-19 about as much as those not fully vaccinated

The state Department of Health Services released new COVID-19 data for the first time in three months this week surrounding the differences in illness, hospitalization and death rates among residents not fully vaccinated and those fully vaccinated.

The DHS found that in March, those not fully vaccinated were being diagnosed with COVID-19 at a similar rate as those who were fully vaccinated. To be exact, people not fully vaccinated were diagnosed with COVID-19 at a rate 1.1 times higher than people who were fully vaccinated. The state attributes this finding to the omicron variant.

Differences in hospitalization and death rates were also significantly smaller than previous months. According to March data, people not fully vaccinated were hospitalized at a rate 2.4 times higher than fully vaccinated people, and they died at a 3.4 times higher rate.

When the DHS last reported illness after vaccination data it was in January with December data, it found residents not fully vaccinated were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the fully vaccinated.

The state also provided data for January and February and it found that people not fully vaccinated were diagnosed with COVID-19 at a rate 1.3 times higher than people who were fully vaccinated in those two months.

In January, people not fully vaccinated were 3.4 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and 7.4 times more likely to die from it.

In February, people not fully vaccinated were 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and 5.5 times more likely to die from it. 

The newly added data for January, February and March 2022 comes after delays from "technical difficulties" with how the data was gathered and stored.

The data did not account for booster doses, the DHS said. So, two doses is considered fully vaccinated here.

Track COVID and the vaccine in Wisconsin:See the latest data on cases, deaths and administered doses

Latest COVID-19 numbers

• New cases reported (Friday): 804
• New deaths reported (Friday), confirmed: 7
• New deaths reported (Friday), probable: 0
• New deaths reported (this week), confirmed: 38
• New deaths reported (this week), probable: 8
• Number hospitalized: 140 (intensive care: 30); down 131 patients from a month ago
• Seven-day average of daily cases: 626 (up 271 cases from one month ago)
• Seven-day average of confirmed daily deaths: 3 (down 28 deaths from a month ago)
• Seven-day average of new deaths reported within 30 days of death: 5 (down 7 deaths from a month ago)
• Seven-day average positivity rate: 5.4% of all COVID-19 tests given
• Total cases since the start of pandemic: 1,401,454
• Total confirmed deaths: 12,861
• Total probable deaths: 1,529

Latest vaccine numbers

• Total doses administered: 9,430,507
• Seven-day average of daily doses: 1,984
• Weekly doses administered: 9,436 (as of Friday)
• Total booster doses administered: 1,991,857
• Seven-day average of daily booster doses: 997
• Residents who have received one dose: 3,745,977 (64.2% of the population)
• Residents who are fully vaccinated: 3,554,423 (60.9% of the population)
• Residents who have received a booster dose: 1,972,539 (33.8% of the population)
• Residents ages 5 to 11 with at least one dose: 133,626 (27.4% of age group) 
• Residents ages 12 to 17 with at least one dose: 273,017 (61.4% of age group)
• Residents ages 18 to 24 with at least one dose: 327,476 (60.1% of age group)
• Residents ages 25 to 34 with at least one dose: 475,427 (64.2% of age group)
• Residents ages 35 to 44 with at least one dose: 499,859 (69.2% of age group)
• Residents ages 45 to 54 with at least one dose: 500,689 (71.6% of age group)
• Residents ages 55 to 64 with at least one dose: 640,124 (78.1% of age group)
• Residents 65 and older with at least one dose: 895,759 (85.5% of age group)

Variant case sequencing

State and private labs regularly do further tests on a portion of positive COVID-19 samples to find the prevalence of different variants of the virus. The numbers below are just a fraction of the total number of variant cases.

Omicron variant was identified in more than 99% of tests sequenced during the week starting March 13. "Other" variants were identified in less than 1% of tests sequenced.

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.