Granite State Times

New Hampshire sits near the top of the list, in terms of U.S. states with the highest percentage of residents fully vaccinated, and health experts say that new data released shows just how effective those vaccines are.

According to Becker's Hospital Review, New Hampshire is eighth of the 50 states for percentage of population vaccinated. Vermont is No. 1.

Out of the 55,270 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Hampshire since January, 666 have been in vaccinated people, making fully vaccinated people about 1.2% of positive COVID-19 cases in the state, according to WMUR9.

"We're seeing that with the delta variant, the vaccines are still tremendously effective, but they are in about the 85 to 88% effective (range)," Dr. Michael Gilbert, chief medical officer for Catholic Medical Center said, told WMUR9. 

New Hampshire COVID-19 cases and deaths have dropped as the state’s vaccination rates are better than most of the nation, reported The Conway Daily Sun.  

WMUR9 reported that ten fully vaccinated individuals in the state have died of COVID-19, representing nearly 1.7% of the 591 deaths during the same time frame.

"The challenge with delta is that it's very, very easy to transmit," Gilbert said, according to WMUR9. "One of the concerns for all of us in health care is that even vaccinated patients can get delta and can transmit delta."

There is currently no specific test for the delta variant versus other variants. 

"The population that is unvaccinated is the patients that are dying and being hospitalized, and getting vaccinated is the one thing that everyone can do to help mitigate this pandemic," Gilbert told WMUR9.