You are at greater risk of dying if you remain unvaccinated against the deadly coronavirus, according to a report released by The Associated Press (AP).
The report, which was released looking at U.S. COVID-19 deaths during May 2021, found that of more than 18,000 deaths from COVID-19, only about 150 were fully vaccinated, which is less than 1%.
Stats from May 2021 have shown that 99% of the 18,000 COVID deaths were unvaccinated people.
Dr. Vino Palli, founder and CEO of MiDoctor Urgent Care in New York City, said, “Vaccine misinformation compounded with vaccine inertia and vaccine access has contributed to this. Even though we have a surplus amount of vaccines at this time we are only seeing 50 to 55% off completely vaccinated patients.”
The authors of the AP report have also acknowledged that some people who are fully vaccinated can get a “breakthrough infection” of COVID-19, according to WebMD.
Breakthrough infections occurred in less than 1,200 of over 853,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in May 2021, which is about 0.1%.
Dr. Hugh Cassiere of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY, said, “The fact that only 0.8% of COVID-19 deaths are in the fully vaccinated should persuade those people still hesitant about vaccination.”
“It seems compelling, even for skeptics, that unvaccinated people represent 99% of those now dying from COVID-19, when they represent less than 50% of the adult population in the USA,” said Dr. Stuart Ray of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
“These recent findings of striking reductions in risk of death in the vaccinated are more directly attributable and harder to ignore or dismiss,” he added.
However, Dr. Brian Labus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas is less convinced. He said, “While this might change some peoples’ minds, it probably won’t make a major difference. People have many different reasons for not getting vaccinated, and this is only one of the things they consider.
Dr. Palli said, “We now know that almost all deaths occurred in patients who were not vaccinated. We also know that all vaccines are effective against various strains that are in circulation right now, including the delta variant, which is rapidly spreading.”
The AP report authors said that their findings support the high efficacy of the vaccines. They also believe that most COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are preventable given the current widespread availability of vaccines.
Dr. Palli explained that public health measures should continue to protect unvaccinated people, especially Black Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities. “Only time will tell if re-opening and abandoning all public health measures by the CDC was premature,” he added.
