Deaths from Covid are no longer an overwhelming majority among the unvaccinated

 

Deaths from Covid are no longer an overwhelming majority among the unvaccinated as the loss of life among the elderly is increasing

Unvaccinated people accounted for the majority of deaths in the United States during most cases of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The toll of the pandemic no longer falls almost exclusively on those who have chosen not to receive vaccinations, with vaccine protection waning over time, and the elderly and the immunocompromised - who are most vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even if vaccinated - face time Increasingly more challenging to avoid contagious strains.

Vaccination accounted for 42% of deaths in January and February during the highly contagious omicron variant eruption, compared to 23% of deaths in September, the peak of the delta wave, according to national data from the CDC analyzed. by The Post. Data are based on infection history and are limited to a sampling of cases in which vaccination status was known.

As a group, the unvaccinated remain more vulnerable to the worst consequences of infection—and are more likely to die—than people who have been vaccinated. They are mainly at greater risk than people who have received a booster dose.

According to Post's analysis, nearly two-thirds of people who died during an omicron wave were 75 or older compared with a third during a delta wave. Older people are overwhelmingly immunized, but vaccines are less effective, and their effectiveness wanes over time in older age groups.

According to the CDC, experts are not surprised that vaccinated seniors make up a more significant proportion of deaths, even with those vaccinated dying far more than those vaccinated during the omicron surge. 

Most vaccinated deaths are among people who did not get a booster dose, according to state data provided to The Post. In California and Mississippi, three-quarters of vaccinated seniors who died in January and February did not receive booster doses. In recent weeks, regulators have allowed second booster doses for people over 50, but the first booster doses have been discontinued.

Although death rates were low among the vaccinated and immunocompromised elderly, their losses were in the thousands when the cases exploded, leaving families behind with blindness. 

When Wayne Berkey, 84, began sneezing and feeling other cold symptoms in early February, he resisted his daughter's doctor's plea for a coronavirus test.

The legendary former morning radio announcer was boosted in Louisville in October. He diligently wears a mask and minimizes his social engagements. He thinks it must be a cold or an allergy. Even a doctor who ordered a chest x-ray and didn't have the coronavirus tests thinks so.

Berkey resumed a familiar role as a prominent advocate for vaccines and coronavirus precautions from his hospital bed. He was friendly to many Kentuckians who had grown up hearing his voice on the radio and watching him host the annual Children's Fundraising TV Crusade. He spent much of the pandemic as a caregiver for his ex-wife, who struggled with chronic fatigue and other long-term virus symptoms.

Berkey wrote on Facebook on February 16, about one year after he posted about getting his first shot. "I remember the times when we cared about our neighbors."

In messages to a family chat group, he made an optimistic note. On February 23, he wrote in a text message: "Thank you for all the love and positive energy." "Put your mask on."

As is often the case with COVID-19 patients, his condition quickly turned around.