Almost All US COVID-19 Deaths Occur In Un-Vaccinated People

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As the anti-CoV-2 vaccines roll out in the US, COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have plummeted. Deaths, too, have plummeted from a peak of 3,400 a day in mid-January to fewer than 300 today. About 63% of vaccine-eligible Americans (those 12 and older) have received at least one vaccine dose, and 53% are fully vaccinated. All this demonstrates the efficacy of the vaccines.

Also showing how effective the vaccines are, almost all new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths now occur in unvaccinated people. An Associated Press analysis of CDC data since May reveals that fewer than 1,200 vaccinated people, out of a total of 853,000, were hospitalized for COVID-19. Furthermore, in May there were 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US, of which only 150 were fully vaccinated. The vaccines are so successful that the CDC director was quoted as saying, “…nearly every death…due to COVID-19 is, at this point, is entirely preventable.” Let me repeat that, COVID-19 deaths are almost 100% preventable now because of the vaccines. Let that sink in, anti-vaxers.

These observations are especially relevant in the face of the Delta, or double mutant virus variant that has taken over India, the UK, Israel, and is rapidly spreading in the US. As I reported earlier, this double mutant variant first appeared in India and carried the same mutations as two earlier variants first identified in the UK and in South Africa. Individually, these mutations made the variants either more virulent, or able to spread faster than the parent virus. Together, they create a more dangerous, faster spreading virus. The good news was that the current vaccines are pretty effective against the Delta variant.

However, there are two concerning things about the Delta variant that raise alarms. First, in Israel, about half of adults infected with the variant were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. 90% of new infections in that country are now caused by the Delta variant and children under 16 account for about half of those new infections. So-called “break-through infections” can occur in fully vaccinated people, but have been, so far, rare. This makes the high level of break-through infections in Israel worrisome. Breakthrough infections in previously vaccinated people are especially worrisome--how is the virus avoiding vaccine immunity? These kind of infections are what most concerns this writer, since a virus that can replicate in a fully infected person suggests we could have a new variant that resists vaccine immunity. We do not yet know why break-through infections appear with greater frequency in that country. However, when vaccinated people are infected, they almost always avoid severe symptoms. Hopefully, this will continue to be the case in Israel. We will see.

The second concerning thing is something I have earlier warned anti-vaxers about—the emergence of further variants that could be even more virulent or able to avoid vaccine immunity. India has just reported a new Delta variant, referred to as “Delta Plus.” It also has been detected in 11 countries including the UK, Japan, and the US. Little is known about this variant, but it has been declared a “variant of concern” and is being closely watched. Again, we will see.

Delta Plus arose in people who have not been vaccinated. As I have strongly argued in these pages, each anti-vaxer represents a potential incubator for a new variant for which current vaccines are ineffective and/or is much more lethal. And as I also pleaded in a previous blog post, “get over yourselves; it is not all about you!” Get the shots.