A staggering new statistic puts into context the 663,913 people in the U.S. who have died of COVID-19 to-date. Per CNN, coronavirus has now killed one in 500 Americans. Additionally, in the past month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 30 percent increase in average daily COVID cases and nearly triple the number of daily deaths since early August.
Last week, the CDC published a new report that found that unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die of COVID than those who have received the vaccine. Still, just 54 percent of the U.S. is fully vaccinated, a rate that is notably lower than those of fellow wealthy countries. “The bottom line is this: We have the scientific tools we need to turn the corner on this pandemic,” Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, said at a White House press briefing last week, per the Washington Post. “Vaccination works and will protect us from the severe complications of Covid-19.”
Health experts were optimistic that the FDA’s August 23 approval of the Pfizer vaccine would encourage more people to get vaccinated. However, the vaccination rate grew by just 4 percent between July 24 and September 9. By comparison, the vaccine rate in Japan increased by 25 percent during the same time frame, doubling the country’s number of fully vaccinated residents.
Despite the pushback against mask and vaccine mandates, as well as the claims made by COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories, the pandemic is far from over. The Delta variant continues to sweep the country, with hospitalization and death rates once again the rise. In the first week of September, the U.S. averaged 1,500 daily COVID deaths, according to the Post. That’s a number we haven’t seen since early March.
The numbers speak for themselves, and the message is loud and clear: Get vaccinated. It could quite literally save your life.
