The majority of Costa Rica’s patients hospitalized with Covid-19 are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, the Social Security Fund (CCSS) said.
An analysis of 343 patients in an intensive-care bed in Costa Rica on October 20 found:
- 65.3% hadn’t received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
- 14.3% had received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
- 5.2% had received their second dose within 15 days.
- 15.2% were fully vaccinated.
Of the 519 hospitalized patients who were not in intensive care on October 20, 49.7% were unvaccinated, 13.3% were partially vaccinated and 37% were fully vaccinated. The largest percentage of hospitalized, fully vaccinated individuals were older adults (60-80 years old), the CCSS said.
From January through October 20, 2021, some 71% of Covid-19 deaths in Costa Rica were of unvaccinated individuals, while 16% had the full two-dose vaccine schedule.
Susana López Delgado, leader of Statistical Analysis for the CCSS, said in a statement from the organization that the data “continue to show that having the complete vaccination schedule is an element that reduces the need to require an intensive-care bed.”
More than 2.66 million people in Costa Rica have received both vaccine doses, according to the latest CCSS data. This represents more than 50% of the country’s population. Nearly 3.7 million people have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca shots.
A complete vaccination scheme will be mandatory to enter some businesses starting in December, and most businesses in Costa Rica as of January 8, 2022.
Covid-19 is associated with 6,997 deaths in Costa Rica since last March. Serious side effects are rare after receiving a coronavirus vaccine. All citizens and residents ages 12 and older are eligible for the vaccine.
New Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped sharply in recent weeks, per the Health Ministry.
