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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Kathryn Moffett Bradford stated on September 1, 2021 in comments at a WVU faculty meeting: “If you look at the hospitalizations at Ruby Memorial in West Virginia, and around the country, 90% to 95% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" true/3d4df195c595a07e3fd69b5e4aab3e3c.jpg.\\") ![\\"true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * West Virginia * Corrections and Updates * Public Health * Coronavirus * Kathryn Moffett Bradford ![\\"Ruby](\\" Ruby Memorial Hospital and the West Virginia University Health Sciences campus in Morgantown, W.Va. (Creative Commons) By Emma Copley October 5, 2021 By Abigail Mulhern October 5, 2021 # Are 90% to 95% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 unvaccinated? #### If Your Time is short • Ruby Memorial Hospital confirmed that at the time of the remark, about 90% to 95% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 were unvaccinated. • Nationally, statistics from the CDC published both before and after her comment broadly support those percentages. See the sources for this fact-check West Virginia University faculty members held a special meeting on Sept. 1 to begin consideration of a proposal to strengthen the university’s rules on the coronavirus by making vaccines mandatory on campus. During the meeting, one faculty member — Kathryn Moffett Bradford, the division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at WVU\'s School of Medicine — offered a statistic that she said supported the importance of getting vaccinated for the coronavirus. \"If you look at the hospitalizations at Ruby Memorial in West Virginia, and around the country, 90% to 95% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated,\" she said. She was referring to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., which is part of WVU’s health system. Angela Knopf, director of media relations and public affairs for J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, confirmed to PolitiFact West Virginia that at the time the faculty meeting was held on Sept. 1, about 90% to 95% of the patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were unvaccinated. Moreover, Knopf said that as of Sept. 13, 2021, fully 100% of the patients in the intensive care unit at Ruby Memorial were unvaccinated. How about the numbers nationally? The share of the unvaccinated in hospitals for COVID-19 is also well above 90%. As of Aug. 2, 2021, more than 164 million people in the United States had been fully vaccinated and, based on reports from 49 U.S. states and territories, there were 7,525 breakthrough cases in which the person was hospitalized or died, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we reported in August. That comes out to less than one-hundredth of 1%. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post CDC warns a third of adults may die from dangerous bacteria in ramen noodles. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 18, 2024 This pattern was borne out by a subsequent study published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Between April 4 to July 17 of 2021, the study found, a bit over 92% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated. That number refers to those who had received their first dose of the vaccine but not their second dose. These numbers also only reflect the 13 U.S. states that were involved in the study, which is about 25% of the U.S. population. Our ruling Bradford said, \"If you look at the hospitalizations at Ruby Memorial in West Virginia, and around the country, 90% to 95% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated.\" Ruby Memorial Hospital confirmed that at the time of her remark, about 90% to 95% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 were unvaccinated. As for the national picture, statistics from the CDC published both before and after her comment broadly support those percentages. We rate the claim True. **CORRECTION, Oct. 6, 2021** : This version corrects the spelling of Angela Knopf\'s name. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Kathryn Moffett Bradford, public statement at a West Virginia University Senate assembly, Sept. 1, 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \"Monitoring Incidence of COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, by Vaccination Status — 13 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–July 17, 2021,\" Sept. 17, 2021 WV MetroNews, \"Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, ventilators all spiking toward all-time pandemic highs,\" Sept. 1, 2021 PolitiFact, \"Unvaccinated people ‘not dead or sick’? False. COVID-19 is hitting them hard,\" Aug. 9, 2021 Email interview with Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, Sept. 3, 2021 Email interview with Angela Knopf, Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs for J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, Sept. 13, 2021 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Emma Copley ![](\\" ![](\\" Kathryn Moffett Bradford stated on September 1, 2021 in comments at a WVU faculty meeting: “If you look at the hospitalizations at Ruby Memorial in West Virginia, and around the country, 90% to 95% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Emma Copley • October 5, 2021 ### Are 90% to 95% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 unvaccinated? * ![](\\" ![](\\" House Majority PAC stated on September 9, 2024 in a television ad: Laurie Buckhout is “trying to get to Congress to pass a national abortion ban, allowing politicians to ban abortions with no exceptions and prosecute women if they get an abortion, treating women right here like criminals.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: “Less than three months ago, Kamala Harris and her administration blocked 300,000 unvetted Haitian migrants from being deported out of our country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 30, 2024 in an X post: Photo shows President Joe Biden lounging on the beach \"while towns all over America were being wiped out” by Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts: “Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 24, 2024 in a post: “Olympic boxer Imane Khelif fails gender test, stripped of all titles, lifetime ban and $25 million prize money revoked!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 30, 2024 in a press conference in Georgia: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was calling President Joe Biden after Hurricane Helene but \"hasn\'t been able to get him.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 29, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Video shows Kamala (Harris) responding to someone talking through her earrings that she allegedly wore during the Trump vs. Harris debate.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 30, 2024 in a Meta ad: U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “believes he should make that decision” about whether to end pregnancies. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 26, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Kamala involved in P-Diddy’s rapes and assaults.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 30, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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If you look at the hospitalizations at Ruby Memorial in West Virginia and around the country 90 to 95 of those hospitalized are unvaccinated