WASHINGTON, D.C. – According to a recently-released analysis conducted for The Washington Post’s Health 202 newsletter, the majority of deaths due to COVID-19 can now currently be attributed to fully-vaccinated individuals as opposed to those who have never taken the jab.
WaPo’s analysis, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 58 of the COVID-19 deaths recorded in August were among those who are vaccinated or boosted, which experts find to be a troubling new trend.
As vaccination rates among U.S. residents increases and additional COVID variants hit the scene, the number of fatal cases among vaccinated have been steadily rising; just 23 percent of COVID deaths in September 2021 were among the inoculated, contrasted with 42 percent in February 2022 and 58 percent in August.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation Vice President Cynthia Cox, “We can no longer say this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Experts state that being unvaccinated still poses a major risk factor for COVID-19-related death, but that vaccine efficacy wanes over time and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends regular booster shots, especially for the elderly; however, a recent study also found that additional booster shots failed to provide additional significant, lasting protection for older Americans.
As for the findings in Kaiser Family Foundation’s report, Cox provided several different reasons for the rise in deaths among inoculated individuals:
- At the point in the pandemic, the overall high vaccination rate means that the majority of those dying from COVID make up a larger percentage.
- Those at the greatest risk of dying from COVID – such as the elderly – are most likely to be vaccinated already.
- Vaccines lose potency over time.
- The BA.5 omicron subvariant, the most recent strain to become dominant, is highly transmissible and resistant to the current batch of vaccines.
Despite the WaPo report, White House coronavirus czar Ashish Jha made the claim on Wednesday that “We can prevent every Covid death in America” if everyone gets their updated booster shot.
“I feel very confident that if people continue to get vaccinated at good numbers, if people get boosted, we can absolutely have a very safe and healthy holiday season,” Jha said.
