A slew of new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the risk of dying from COVID-19 was 11 times higher for unvaccinated people compared to fully vaccinated people in August, CNN reports.
- Unvaccinated people were six times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 in August.
- Unvaccinated people were 19 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19.
That said, the new CDC data shows that the risk of death from COVID-19 for unvaccinated people dipped slightly in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases have fallen, according to CNN.
The new data comes as people are looking at how the COVID-19 vaccine could have saved more lives. In fact, a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that close to 90,000 American lives could have been saved if more people had been vaccinated.
According to the analysis, COVID-19 was the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. throughout the month of September with 1,899 daily deaths on average.
Looking ahead, experts are seeing a potential “twindemic” on the horizon where the flu and COVID-19 will be moving throughout the country at the same time.
- “I think the twin threats of this pathogen and the flu circulating every winter, as coronaviruses settle into a more seasonal pattern, is going to be too much for society to bear,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. “I think we’re going to have to readjust how we live our lives.”