Nearly All COVID Deaths In The United States Are Among Unvaccinated Population

Jun 25, 2021 by apost team

After an incredibly challenging year full of loss, COVID-19 deaths in the United States are down in numbers but, unfortunately, not down to zero. According to an AP News analysis of public government data from May, it shows that nearly all current COVID-19 deaths are occurring in the unvaccinated population. As the data shows, fully vaccinated people account for less than 1,200 of the total 853,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations — around 0.1%. Only 150 out of the total 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were from the fully vaccinated population. The data shows just how effective the vaccine is in reducing the number of deaths per day. In fact, the data suggests that death numbers could be practically zero if everyone who is eligible for a vaccine would get one. The data that AP analyzed was from figures provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although the CDC itself has not broken down what percentage of hospitalizations and deaths come from fully vaccinated versus non-vaccinated people, AP's report shows irrefutable proof that the vaccine is effective against COVID-19 death. 

The overall trend that was analyzed from the data reinforces what health care authorities are seeing all over the United States, as well as what top experts are saying regarding the vaccine. 

According to AP, after only one month into the vaccination drive, deaths in the US have dropped substantially from a peak of over 3,400 deaths per day in mid-January. 

Read on to learn more about AP's report and how other experts are weighing in on the vaccination versus COVID-19 death data from May 2021. 

According to AP, on Tuesday, June 22, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke to the vaccine's effectiveness. She said:

"...nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable." 

Dr. Walensky described every preventable death as "particularly tragic."

Out of all vaccine-eligible US residents — those who are 12 years old and older — roughly 63% of them have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Over half, 53%, of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Although vaccine supply remains scarce in many other countries around the world, the United States has an abundant supply; demand for the vaccine has gone down so dramatically that many shots are going unused. 

According to AP, 68-year-old small-business owner Ross Bagne in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was eligible to receive the vaccine in early February of 2021. However, Bagne did not get the vaccine. Bagne died on June 4, 2021, infected with COVID-19, and without the vaccination, he was eligible for four months prior to his death. Bagne spent over three weeks in the hospital as his lungs filled with fluid. Because of a stroke, he was unable to swallow. 

Bagne's sister, Karen McKnight, told AP:

"He never went out, so he didn't think he would catch it. Why take the risk of not getting vaccinated?"

As health experts have predicted, the preventable deaths will only continue as unvaccinated pockets of the country are expected to experience outbreaks in the coming fall and winter. According to AP, Ali Mokdad — professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle — said the nation would hit 1,000 deaths per day again next year, as suggested by data models.

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The state of Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the entire country, with only about 33% of the population fully vaccinated. As expected, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise. Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted, urging people to get vaccinated. He wrote:

"It is sad to see someone go to the hospital or die when it can be prevented."

The public health department in King County in Seattle, Washington, found that only three deaths occurred within a 60-day period among fully vaccinated people. However, 95% of 62 deaths occurred in people who were either not vaccinated at all or had only received one dose of the vaccine. 

One leader of a vaccination outreach program in King County, Dr. Mark Del Beccaro, told AP:

"Those are all somebody's parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends. It's still a lot of deaths, and they're preventable deaths."

In the area around St. Louis, Missouri, more than 90% of the patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are a part of the non-vaccinated population, according to Dr. Alex Garza. Garza is a hospital administrator directing a metropolitan-area task force aimed at tackling the COVID-19 outbreak. Dr. Garza told AP:

"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."

While the stories of unvaccinated people losing their lives to COVID-19 may persuade some of the unvaccinated population in the US to get the jab, many young people are simply motivated to get vaccinated by a desire to protect the vulnerable loved ones around them. 

Our hearts go out to anyone who has lost a loved one due to COVID-19. We hope to see the death rate disappear — please pass this on to your friends and family.