99% of Americans Dying of Covid-19 Were Not Fully Vaccinated

The covid-19 pandemic has receded considerably within the U.S., thanks partly to a profitable vaccine marketing campaign. But a brand new report from the Associated Press released Thursday highlights a transparent divide within the nation: Americans are nonetheless getting critically sick and dying from the viral sickness, however the overwhelming majority of this hurt is occurring among the many not absolutely vaccinated.

The AP analyzed knowledge from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on covid-related hospitalizations and deaths reported in May 2021. During that point, there have been greater than 850,000 documented hospitalizations, with solely about 1,200 linked to individuals who have been absolutely vaccinated (outlined as being two weeks after the remaining scheduled dose). In different phrases, absolutely vaccinated folks accounted for almost 0.1% of all hospitalizations final month. The dying toll was equally skewed. Around 18,000 deaths have been reported in May, however solely 150 (0.8%) concerned absolutely vaccinated folks.

The figures are based mostly on considerably incomplete data, since solely 45 states commonly report so-called breakthrough infections of vaccinated folks. So there could also be some deaths and infections among the many absolutely vaccinated which are going unnoticed.

That stated, the information aligns with scientific trial outcomes of the FDA-authorized covid-19 vaccines that confirmed outstanding safety from hospitalization and dying; additionally they mirror the real-world knowledge collected in different extremely vaccinated international locations. Earlier this week, throughout a White House briefing, CDC director Rochelle Walensky noted that “nearly every death, especially among adults, due to covid-19 is at this point entirely preventable” as she pointed to the widespread availability of vaccines for these ages 12 and up. As of June 24, 45.6% of the U.S. inhabitants is fully vaccinated, together with 53.3% of these over 12.

There have been issues that the Delta variant of the virus, initially present in India earlier this 12 months, might change the falling trajectory of the pandemic in extremely vaccinated locations just like the U.S. Cases and hospitalizations have risen within the UK in the previous few weeks as Delta has change into the dominant pressure. So far, nevertheless, UK hospitalizations and deaths are nonetheless at far lower levels than earlier peaks. Other analysis has suggested that the mRNA vaccines most generally used within the U.S. ought to stay extremely efficient in opposition to Delta and that no variant found to date has confirmed to fully evade the immunity supplied by vaccines.

In the U.S., it’s estimated that 20% of recent instances are actually from Delta, and specialists have projected that it’s going to change into the dominant pressure in a matter of weeks. It’s not sure whether or not Delta will result in extra instances or severe sickness from covid-19 within the U.S. as soon as it’s firmly established. But it’s clear that Delta and covid-19 typically shall be a far graver risk for the components of the U.S. and the world the place vaccination charges are nonetheless lagging.