Nearly 90% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Montana over the past eight weeks have been unvaccinated, state officials said in a report released Thursday — a finding that comes as the state surpasses 1,800 active cases, roughly a quarter of which are in Flathead County.

The state Department of Public Health and Human Services looked at 358 people who were hospitalized with COVID-19 from June 5 to July 30 and found 89% of those patients had not received a vaccine. The patients ranged in age from 1 to 97, with a median age of 64.

The report also found that daily COVID-19 hospitalizations have trended upward to a current average of 95 people per day. That includes a 44% jump from the week ending July 23 to the week ending July 30.

"This data illustrates just how effective the COVID-19 vaccine is in preventing serious illness when you consider how far we've come since the vaccine first became available," DPHHS Director Adam Meier said in a statement. "The data is also a reminder of how important it is to get vaccinated. This is now a vaccine-preventable disease, and the last thing we want to see are more cases and hospitalizations. The COVID-19 vaccine is the best tool we have to prevent serious illness and hospitalization."

With the fall and winter months just around the corner and cases already climbing at a quick rate, Meier emphasized "now is the time to get the vaccine," which remains free to practically everyone who wants one.

MONTANA HAD tallied 1,852 active cases as of Thursday, up from 1,180 cases on July 30. Flathead County continues to be a hotbed of infections, with 453 of the state's active cases, or roughly 24%. Yellowstone and Missoula counties had the second and third highest caseloads with 249 and 192, respectively.

As the extremely contagious delta variant is now the most common strain of the coronavirus in the United States, state and local health experts anticipate cases and hospitalizations will continue their upward trajectory. According to the state's report, the delta variant accounted for 87% of COVID-19 testing samples that were observed for the final week in July.

Researchers also believe the delta variant can be spread by fully vaccinated people, unlike earlier strains of the virus, which recently prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse course and issue guidance that everyone, including vaccinated people, should wear masks indoors in high-risk parts of the country.

Despite recent "breakthrough" cases among vaccinated people, their risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 remains far lower than those who are unvaccinated, and health officials stress that breakthrough infections don't mean the vaccines aren't working.

"COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control," the CDC says on its website. "However, 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."

THE KAISER Family Foundation recently analyzed data from state health departments across the country and found that more than 9 in 10 COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have occurred among people who are unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated. The foundation looked specifically at states that have consistently reported data on breakthrough infections, including Montana.

When the foundation released its report on July 30, only 3.2% of COVID-19 cases, 2.3% of virus-related hospitalizations and 3.1% of virus-related deaths had occurred among fully vaccinated people in Montana. The Kaiser Family Foundation (which is not affiliated with insurance carrier Kaiser Permanente) also emphasized the importance of vaccines.

"While information on breakthrough events is still limited and incomplete, this analysis of available state-level data indicates that COVID-19 breakthrough cases, and especially hospitalizations and deaths, among those who are fully vaccinated are rare occurrences in the United States," the foundation said in its report. "Moreover, this data indicates the vast majority of reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. are among those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. These findings echo the abundance of data demonstrating the effectiveness of currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines."

VACCINATING MORE of the population will be vital moving forward.

The United States recently hit President Joe Biden's vaccination goal of 70%, which includes those who are awaiting a second dose. But with caseloads rising and the risk of new, potentially more dangerous variants emerging, officials are pushing for that percentage to increase.

In Montana, more than 445,438 people are fully immunized, or about 48% of the vaccine-eligible population. However, state health officials said the number receiving their first dose has steadily increased over the past several weeks after declining in June and the first part of July.

From the week ending July 23 to the week ending July 30, there was an 18% increase in Montanans receiving their first dose.

Reporter Kianna Gardner may be reached at kgardner@dailyinterlake.com.