HELENA — There were 402 new COVID-19 cases reported within the last 24 hours in Montana, with 1,580 total active cases in the state as of Tuesday. March 16, 2021, was the last time the state saw more than 400 cases reported in a single day.
Flathead County reported the most new cases with 91, putting the total number of active cases in the county at 391. Yellowstone County followed with 62 new cases, putting its total at 227.
There were 12 new deaths reported Tuesday; the total number of Montanans who have died due to COVID is now 1,716, according to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS).
The number of state residents who have been fully immunized against the virus is now 444,082 (about 48% of the state population). The total number of doses administered is 897,696. If you want to get vaccinated, contact your county health department, or click here.
The number of people currently hospitalized due to COVID is 112, up six from last Friday, July 30. The cumulative number of hospitalizations in Montana due to the virus is 5,759.
There have been 117,033 cumulative cases of COVID in Montana. The cumulative number of recoveries is now 113,464. The total number of COVID tests administered in Montana is 1,510,851. Visit the DPHHS website at any time for current state data and county-specific information.
The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more than 99.99% of those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the U.S. have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization or death.
A vaccine breakthrough infection is defined as the detection of the coronavirus in a person more than two weeks after they have completed all recommended doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of July 26, the CDC said more than 163 million people in U.S. had been fully vaccinated against the virus. By that same day, the agency received reports from 49 states and territories that showed 6,587 patients experienced a breakthrough infection. That included 6,239 hospitalizations and 1,263 deaths.
If you divide the number of hospitalizations by the number of vaccinated Americans, it shows that less than .004% of those who are fully vaccinated ended up in the hospital as a result of a breakthrough case.
And if you divide the number of deaths by the number of vaccinated Americans, it shows that less than .001% of those who are fully vaccinated ended up dying because of a breakthrough case.
The CDC says these breakthrough cases are expected because no vaccines are 100% effective at preventing illness in vaccinated people.
“There will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19,” wrote the CDC on its website.
The CDC says the vaccines are working as expected and they’re strongly encouraging Americans to get the shot. Officials say the vaccines are effective against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 currently circulating in the country, including the delta variant.
“Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild,” the CDC says on its website.