Four COVID-19 variants are more likely to put you in the hospital, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The Delta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants of COVID-19 have higher rates of hospitalization in unvaccinated people compared to the original strain of the virus, research by the DOH confirms.
The study examined around 23,000 people in Washington who became infected with one of the COVID-19 strains, and 90% of the people were under age 60, according to the study. At the time of the study, the majority of the subjects were unvaccinated.
The study found that people infected with the Gamma and Beta variants were at the highest risk of being hospitalized. The Delta and Alpha variants showed higher rates of hospitalization compared to other variants of the virus, according to the study.
People who are vaccinated are at a lesser risk of being hospitalized with any of the COVID-19 variants compared to those who are unvaccinated, according to the study.
The findings from this study are corroborated by similar studies across the globe, according to the study.
In King County, 5.3% of all positive cases resulted in hospitalization, according to the King County COVID-19 dashboard. In the past 14 days, 177 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in King County, and 23 people died from the virus in the same time frame.
According to the dashboard, an average of 15 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 each day in King County.
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