Photo: John Moore / Getty Images
An astonishing new statistic puts into context the 663,913 people in the United States who have died so far from COVID-19. According to CNN, the coronavirus has now killed one in 500 Americans. In addition, over the past month, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 30 percent increase in the daily average of COVID cases and nearly three times the number of daily deaths since the beginning of August.
Last week, the CDC released a new report that found that unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID than those who have received the vaccine. However, only 54 percent of the U.S. is fully vaccinated, a rate that is significantly lower than that of rich countries. “The bottom line is this: we have the scientific tools to turn the corner against this pandemic,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky told a White House news conference last week, according to Washington Publication. “Vaccination works and will protect us from the serious complications of Covid-19.”
Health experts were optimistic that FDA approval on August 23 of the Pfizer vaccine would encourage more people to get vaccinated. However, the vaccination rate grew by only 4% between July 24 and September 9. In comparison, the vaccine rate in Japan increased by 25% over the same period of time, doubling the number of fully vaccinated residents in the country.
Despite the backlash against mask and vaccine mandates, as well as claims of misinformation and conspiracy theories by COVID, the pandemic is far from over. The Delta variant continues to sweep the country, with hospitalization and mortality rates rising once again. In the first week of September, the U.S. averaged 1,500 deaths a day from COVID, according to the Publication. It’s a number we haven’t seen since early March.
The numbers speak for themselves and the message is clear: get vaccinated. It could literally save your life.