Lung X-ray films of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients with COVID-19 have recently been compared, showing that someone who has not yet been vaccinated will likely require intensive care for his infection's treatment.
According to a Mail Online report, Dr. Ghassan Kamel, the Medical ICU Director at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in Missouri, had been treating thousands of infected people with the virus since the onset of the pandemic in March last year.
The unvaccinated patient's lung X-rays are nearly completely white, showing they are filled with the virus, have strong scarring, not to mention there is a lack of air that enters the organs.
However, the lung X-ray of the vaccinated person shows an abundance of air flowing through and is nearly virus-free.
COVID-19 Impacting the Lungs
Frequently, COVID-19 results in complications like pneumonia, which takes place when the lungs become filled with fluid and turn inflamed.
As the airbags get filled with fluid, they become incapable of taking in as much oxygen, which results in symptoms like shortness of breath and coughing, to name a couple.
Studies have found damage to the epithelial cells lining respiratory passages from the COVID-19 patients' noses to their lungs.
Recently, Missouri has been hit with a wave of COVID-19 cases, with average contagion increasing by 36 percent from a little more than 2,100 each day to nearly 3,000 every day in the past couple of weeks.
Statewide, data from the Department of Health showed hospital admissions have increased in the last 14 days, to more than 1,900 or 41 percent, from more than 1,300.
Vaccinated Vs. Unvaccinated
In a KDSK report, Dr. Kamel said, the patients reporting to him are younger than they were "during the winter surge of 2020 to 2021, not to mention, were mostly unvaccinated. The doctor elaborated, they are now seeing very ill patients.
To demonstrate the difference vaccine can make, Kamel shared two lung X-rays. One shows that of a vaccinated patient with COVID-19, and the other, that of the unvaccinated.
As a result, the vaccinated patient's X-ray shows a large amount of black space. Meaning, the person can inhale a great amount of air.
To compare, the unvaccinated COVID-19 patient's lung X-ray shows, the organ is nearly totally white. Such whiteness of the lungs is also called "opacities."
Lung Opacities
According to Kaggle, lung opacities are not the same as pneumonia. This site describes them as vague, fuzzy clouds of white in the lungs' darkness, usually indicating the lungs are full of things like bacteria, immune system cells, or fluid.
It also means that a patient cannot intake as much oxygen as he usually would if he has a healthy lung.
Dr. Kamel explained, the unvaccinated patient's X-ray shows clearly that he requires medical attention. By looking at an unvaccinated lung X-ray, the doctor said, a patient most possibly needs assistance.
The doctor elaborated that this patient, he continued, would need oxygen, and sometimes, he would need more than that. He might require the ventilator or even get intubated on mechanical ventilation, sedated, and basically be on life support.
To compare, if a vaccinated individual does not get admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19, he possibly wouldn't require intensive care.
He said he's hoping the scans would help convince people who have not yet been vaccinated to get inoculated.
Commenting on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines available, Dr. Kamel said, those who don't like wearing a mask definitely wouldn't like the ventilator.
Related information about COVID-19 infections rising among the unvaccinated is shown on CBS Evening News's YouTube video below:
Check out more news and information on COVID-19 and Vaccines in Science Times.
