Mission Hospital reports every patient to die from COVID19 was unvaccinated 

Mission Hospital in Asheville reports 415 COVID19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, and of those 415 patients, every one of them have been unvaccinated. 

The alarming statistic was given by Dr. William Hathaway, Chief Medical Officer with Mission Health before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting this week. 

“The patients who are in the hospital and who are dying, are the unvaccinated, not the vaccinated,” said Dr. Hathaway. “Vaccinated people can get infected, but the severity of the illness is dramatically reduced.”

According to Mission Health Systems, as of 5 a.m. on Sept. 8, there were 168 COVID positive patients within the Mission Health system; 129 at Mission Hospital; Four at Angel Medical Center; 11 at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital; 0 at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital; 14 at Mission Hospital McDowell; and 10 at Transylvania Regional.

In addition to Mission Health Systems, there are 124 COVID19 positive patients at other hospitals in the Mountain Region of the state for a total of 292 people, with 79 of those being in ICU beds. 10 percent of the COVID19 patients in the Mountain Region are currently on ventilators. 

Of those hospitalized in the Mountain Region, two percent are 17 years old or younger, 5 percent are between 20-29 years old, 14 percent are 30-39, 14 percent are 40-49, 26 percent are 50-59, 17 percent are 60-69, 14 percent are 70 to 79 and 7 percent are individuals over the age of 80. 

Across North Carolina, there are currently 3,790 people hospitalized and positive for COVID19 with 95% of the state’s hospitals reporting. Of those hospitalized, 920 are currently being treated as adult ICU patients.

More than half of the Macon County population are considered to be fully vaccinated with 51 percent of the population or 18,410 being reported vaccinated by the state. 56 percent of the county population —  or 20,083 people —  have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

For Jackson County, 52 percent or 22,908 people are considered fully vaccinated while 59 percent or 26,041 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Swain County has 35 percent or 4,945 people fully vaccinated with 39 percent or 5,656 people receiving the first dose.