The Covid Pandemic Only Exists Now Among the Unvaccinated

Health and Gender Policy # 117 | By: S.Bhimji | July 18, 2021

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Policy Summary

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For reasons unknown, the US has a fair number of people who are adamant about not getting vaccinated against Covid 19. Some people believe that the government has a sinister agenda in having all the people vaccinated, others believe that the vaccine is not safe and yet others think that the vaccine has little value in healthy people.

Whatever the beliefs, the one absolute fact is that the number of Covid related deaths has drastically dropped since last year. From an average of 4,000 deaths a day, the latest data show that now we only have about 297 deaths a day. And the majority of the deaths that still occur are in people who remain unvaccinated. For all the doubters this just goes to show the effectiveness of the vaccines.

The current death rate of about 300 per day, would be zero if everyone eligible also got vaccinated. The latest data show that the number of hospital admissions is around 107,000 and the percentage of hospitalized individuals who have been vaccinated is 1.1% And in May 2021, of the 18,000 deaths, only 150 were in vaccinated individuals which translates to about 5 deaths per day.

While there have been breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, the numbers are small and the deaths are rare.

Policy Analysis

The overall trend is what the experts have been saying- if you are vaccinated, your chance of dying is very small. As of July 2021, data from the CDC reveals that close to 99% of Americans dying from Covid 19 are unvaccinated. This is a great tragedy because the vaccine can prevent high mortality but the anti-vaxxers still remain unconvinced.

Following the mass vaccination program which started in mid-January, deaths in the US have dropped from a peak of more than 3,400 a day to less than 300 per day.

Photo taken from: Axios.com

As of May 2021, about 63% of Americans older than 12 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 53% are fully vaccinated. Unlike the rest of the world, there is no shortage of vaccines in the US but the demand has dropped significantly in many southern (red) states.

Experts in infectious disease state that the preventable deaths will continue among the unvaccinated communities as we approach the Fall and Winter season when the flu virus will also be active.

In the South, Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates, with only 1/3^rd of the population fully protected; and tragically deaths and hospitalizations continue to rise.

The real tragedy of this pandemic is that these deaths can be prevented by people being vaccinated. There is no cost for the vaccine and it is without major adverse effects.

The other thing to note is that among the unvaccinated who have been admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing, they now regret not being vaccinated. And while they can receive the vaccine even at this stage, they will still be faced with huge medical bills.

The Biden administration is now hoping that more stories about deaths in unvaccinated people may convince some individuals to get the shots. But despite all types of seductions including free groceries, discounts, coupons, etc, many Americans still remain adamant that they will not get vaccinated.

Many healthcare institutions and businesses are even offering paid-off time to workers who may suffer adverse effects from the vaccine.

But in the end it all boils down to the individual, if he or she does not want to be vaccinated, then in a democratic country like ours, there is little one can do besides telling them to wear a mask.