99% of People Who Die From COVID Have This in Common
One of the least-heralded benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine is that it can not only help prevent you from getting coronavirus, but minimize the impact if you do contract the virus through a "breakthrough" infection. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on Meet the Press yesterday to reveal what 99% of recent COVID deaths have in common. Read on for four life-saving pieces of advice—and to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
Dr. Fauci Said 99% of COVID Deaths Have This One Thing in Common
"If you look at the number of deaths, about 99.2% of them are unvaccinated, about 0.8% are vaccinated," said Dr. Fauci. "No vaccine is perfect. But when you talk about the avoidability of hospitalization and deaths, it's really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable, preventable. I mean, obviously they're going to be some people because of the variability, among people in their response to vaccine that you'll see some who are vaccinated and still get into trouble and get hospitalized and died. But the overwhelming proportion of people who get into trouble are the un-vaccinated, which is the reason why we say this is really entirely avoidable and preventable."
CDC Chief Said the Number Was 99.5%
"Our authorized vaccines provide protection against the circulating variants in this country, including Delta vaccination," and it "is how we protect these individuals, families, and communities, and prevent severe disease, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, at last week's White House COVID Press Briefing. "Preliminary data from a collection of states over the last six months suggest 99.5% of deaths from COVID-19 in these states have occurred in unvaccinated people."
CDC Chief Said Any Suffering is "Entirely Avoidable"
"Any suffering or death from COVID-19 is tragic with vaccines available across the country. The suffering and loss we are now seeing is nearly entirely avoidable. COVID vaccines are available and free for everyone aged 12 and up. And I encourage everyone who has not been vaccinated, especially those in these vulnerable communities with low vaccine coverage, to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated. I want to remind those who remain unvaccinated to protect themselves by wearing a mask and avoiding crowds to prevent transmission and illness," said Walensky.
Dr. Fauci Said the Vaccine Can Prevent Symptoms
Dr. Fauci also praised the effectiveness of the vaccine to stave off the virus and reduce illness. "First, in a study published online on June 14, from Scotland, it was shown that the mRNA vaccine had about an 80 percent effectiveness against PCR-confirmed infection. In this situation, two doses of AZ was about 60 percent effective," he said. Next, with regard to symptomatic disease: Again, in this study, in medRxiv, published on May 24th, two weeks after the second dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, again, 88 percent effective against symptomatic disease from the Delta variant."
Dr. Fauci Said the Vaccine Decreases Your Chances of Hospitalization
"Next, what about hospitalization?" said Fauci. "Again, from Public Health England, from June 14, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was 96 percent effective against hospitalization from the Delta variant after two doses, and the AZ was 92 percent effective against hospitalization after two doses." As for the J&J vaccine: "Since these vaccines — the AZ and the J&J — are based on very similar platforms, one could anticipate and make a reasonable assumption that the results against the Delta variant would be at least similar, perhaps even better." So get vaccinated when it becomes available to you, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.
