An analysis made and released by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) on Wednesday found data and information stating that approximately 90,000 COVID-19 deaths among adults likely would have been prevented with vaccines made widely available for adults.
COVID-19 has taken a lot of lives in many parts of the world. And just in the U.S., COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the year 2020. From December 2020 to early 2021, it surpassed cancer and heart disease in the spot where it became the number one leading cause of death.
Vials of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine (Photo: CIDRAP)
COVID-19 in the U.S.
That didn’t stay for long because of the rapid uptake of vaccinations. When the vaccines became available, COVID-19 dropped to the spot number seven leading cause of death as of July 2021. But with the surfacing of problems such as the New infectious COVID-19 Delta Variant, the insufficient vaccination, and the states easing up on the restrictions like social distancing, cases have been raised again.
Hospitalizations, deaths increased drastically, and vaccinations lagged in some certain states, especially for younger adults. According to KFF, about 78 percent of adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 50 million adults remain unvaccinated as of October 7, 2021.
KFF also estimated the COVID-19 deaths among unvaccinated adults that could have been prevented when the COVID-19 vaccines that were deemed safe and effective became widely available to all adults from June to September 2021. And approximately 90,000 COVID-19 deaths among adults likely would have been prevented with vaccination.
In January 2021, COVID-19 deaths decreased from 3,135 deaths per day but started increasing again by August 2021 because of the Delta Variant wave. In September 2021, there was 1,899 death per day, which is close to heart disease, the number one cause of death in the U.S. claiming 2,000 deaths per day and cancer that claims 1,600 deaths per day.
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A Nurse administering the COVID Pfizer Vaccine. (Photo: Getty Images)
COVID-19 Vaccines
As of October 7, 2021, 710,659 people in the U.S. have lost their lives due to COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic. This was shown in the cumulative number of deaths presented by KFF.
COVID-19 fell from rank one to rank number seven among the leading causes of death in July but shot right up back to rank number two by September 2021. It was, however, the number one leading cause of death from people ranging from 35-54 years old in September 2021.
Since early May 2021, safe, accessible, and highly effective vaccines have been made available for all adults in the U.S. and the older ones, and those people who have higher risks adults were made as a priority and were able to access the vaccines months earlier. Adults could have been fully vaccinated and protected from most cases due to COVID-19.
By looking at the data provided by CDC, researchers summed COVID-19 deaths from June to September and subtracted COVID-19 deaths among children aged from 0-7 years old, then subtracted COVID-19 related deaths among vaccinated people with a breakthrough from total COVID-19 deaths among adults in each month. They stated that even if unvaccinated people who died from COVID-19 had chosen to be vaccinated, deaths might not be preventable as vaccines are not 100 percent effective.
Researchers based their assumption in a recent CDC study that shows age-standardized vaccine effectiveness against death of 91 percent in June 20-July 7 period and 94 percent on April 4- June 19 period. They assume that 91 percent of COVID-19 deaths among unvaccinated people likely would have been prevented with COVID-19 vaccinations.
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