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Almost All US Coronavirus Deaths Now Occurring in Unvaccinated People

Unvaccinated
President Joe Biden visiting a vaccination clinic at the Army’s Water Reed Medical Center in 2021. Almost all deaths from the coronavirus are now occurring in people who are unvaccinated. Credit: Facebook/ The White House

Nearly all deaths in the US that are related to the coronavirus now occur in those who are unvaccinated, according to a new report, which clearly shows the stunning efficacy of the inoculation campaign which started in December of 2020.

The Associated press analysis shows the staggering effect that the inoculation process has made in the fight against the coronavirus, pointing to the fact that for all intents and purposes, the death rate cold be reduced to zero statistically if those who remain hesitant would only decide to receive the shot.

The US’ daily death toll from the coronavirus is now under 300 — down precipitously from the worst times of the pandemic, when there were more than 3,400 deaths per day on average associated with the coronavirus in mid-January.

Only one month into the vaccination drive, this was the apex of the pandemic in America, marking the great spike in infections resulting from the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

The news comes at a time when even those as young as 12 can now receive the vaccine and the shots are undergoing trials in those as young as three years of age.

Overwhelming number of deaths in unvaccinated people nationwide

The AP study, which involved an analysis of available government data from May, demostrates shows that “breakthrough” infections in those who have been fully vaccinated represented fewer than 1,200 out of more than 107,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations. That statistic comes to approximately 1.1%.

Furthermore, only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 related deaths that occurred in May in the United States were in those who had been fully vaccinated. That translates to about 0.8%, or five deaths per day on average, in a country with over 325 million inhabitants.

The report used figures that were provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC itself, however, has not given an official estimate of what percentage of hospitalizations and deaths have occurred in fully vaccinated people, citing data limitations.

Amazingly, only about 45 states have reported breakthrough infections, and some are more aggressive than others in searching out and investigating such cases. This makes it possible that the available data has understated these infections, according to CDC officials.

Regardless, it appears certain that the overall trend shows what many health officials are observing around the country and what epidemiological experts are now saying.

Earlier in June Andy Slavitt, a former coronavirus adviser to the Biden administration, estimated that between 98% to 99% of Americans who were dying with the coronavirus had not been vaccinated.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated earlier this week that the vaccines are so effective that “nearly every death, especially among adults, due to Covid-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable.” She then termed such deaths “particularly tragic.”

As of June 30, approximately 63% of all Americans who are eligible for the vaccine — all those 12 and older — have received at least one dose, and 53% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC’s updated figures.

While tragically supplies of the vaccine remain uneven in much of the world, the US has an abundance of inoculations now. There is little demand now for the shots, to the point that many vaccination centers which had been devoted to the inoculation campaign are now being closed.

Now, personal physicians and pharmacies can usually handle the demand for coronavirus vaccinations, while vials of the precious vaccine are opened for only one person and the rest may be discarded, something that was unthinkable in the first rush for the vaccine, which began December.

Ross Bagne, a 68-year-old small-business owner in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was eligible for the vaccine in early February but did not receive it. He died on June 4, after spending more than three weeks in the hospital, his lungs filling with fluid.

Bagne was already unable to swallow because of a stroke that he had suffered earlier.

His grieving sister, Karen McKnight, told interviewers “He never went out, so he didn’t think he would catch it,” before adding her own plea “Why take the risk of not getting vaccinated?”

Health experts state that these tragically preventable deaths will continue, with the more unvaccinated areas across of the nation experiencing outbreaks this coming Fall and Winter.

Due to this hesitancy, health officials predict that the US will again see spikes in coronavirus deaths. Dr. Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, estimated that modeling points to the nation seeing 1,000 deaths per day again next year if this hesitancy continues.

The unwillingness to receive the inoculation is particularly troubling across the American South, with Arkansas one of the “vaccine deserts,” with only about 33% of the population fully protected.

The number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising there, in inverse proportion to what is happening in all the other states where vaccination rates are high and have reached a saturation point.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson tweeted a message to his unvaccinated constituents recently, urging everyone in the state to get their shot.“It is sad to see someone go to the hospital or die when it can be prevented,” he stated.

Northern states continue to top list of vaccinated residents

The northern tier of US states are among the most well-protected against the coronavirus now, with Vermont topping of the list, boasting over 65% of its residents are fully vaccinated. Massachusetts comes in second, with 61.47 %and Maine is third, with 60.89% of its people fully protected against the virus.

Seattle’s King County public health department reported only three deaths during a recent 60-day period in people who had been fully vaccinated. All the other deaths reported during that time, comprising 95% of 62 deaths, occurred in those who had had no vaccine or just one shot of a two-dose regimen.

Dr. Mark Del Beccaro, one of the leaders of a vaccination outreach program in King County, states “Those are all somebody’s parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.

“It’s still a lot of deaths, and they’re preventable deaths.”

According to Dr. Alex Garza, a hospital administrator who heads up a task force on the outbreak, states that in the St. Louis area, more than 90% of patients who are now hospitalized with Covid-19 have not been vaccinated.

And some of those who have resisted the vaccine are starting to get the message being sent by these figures.

Garza said “The majority of them express some regret for not being vaccinated. That’s a pretty common refrain that we’re hearing from patients with Covid.”

This undeniable evidence of unvaccinated people dying may convince some that they should get the shots, but young adults — the group that statistically is least likely to be vaccinated — may be motivated instead by a desire to protect their loved ones from the virus.

This is the opinion of David Michaels, an epidemiologist at George Washington University’s school of public health in Washington, DC. Michaels notes that for others, the fact that they have not yet received the vaccine is more likely due to needing paid time off from work to not only get the inoculation but also to deal with possible side effects, Michaels said.

Just this month, the US’ Occupational Safety and Health Administration began requiring health care employers — including hospitals and nursing homes — to provide such time off for all their employees who had not yet received their shots.

However, according to Michaels, who ran OSHA under former President Barack Obama, said the agency should have gone even further, applying that same ruling to those who work in the meat and poultry plants and other food operations all around the country, as well as other workers who are still at risk.

Bagne, who passed away from the virus after having suffered a stroke that Mae him unable to swallow, lived alone. Before he contracted Covid-19, he had been winding down his business and planning to retire.

At that time, in April, he emailed his sister in April after beginning to suffer with an illness that had left him dizzy and disoriented.

“Whatever it was. That bug took a LOT out of me,” he wrote at the time, still unable or unwilling to believe that he had contracted the disease.

His health deteriorated further before a neighbor finally persuaded Bagne to go to the hospital.

His sister asked interviewers “Why was the messaging in his state so unclear that he didn’t understand the importance of the vaccine? He was a very bright guy.

“I wish he’d gotten the vaccine, and I’m sad he didn’t understand how it could prevent him from getting COVID.”

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