Houston hospital workers cover a patient who died of COVID-19.Photo: Go Nakamura/Getty
COVID-19 continued to be one of the deadliest illnessesin the United States in 2021, and just as in 2020, the virus was the third leading cause of death, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. But it didn’t have to be thanks to the COVID-19 vaccines, and another new report estimates that around 234,000 Americanswho died from the virusafter June 2021 would have been saved if they had gotten vaccinated.
On Thursday,the Kaiser Family Foundation released a new analysisthat looked at the number of adult COVID-19 deaths from June 2021 — when vaccines were widely available and all Americans could have been fully vaccinated — to March 2022. After eliminating the small number of deaths that occurred in people who were vaccinated and accounting for other risk factors, the non-profit estimated that around 234,000 Americans who died during that period would have lived if they had gotten vaccinated.
As of April 21, just 66% of Americans are fully vaccinated,according to CDC data.
And on Friday, the CDC released their annual report on the leading causes of deaths in the U.S. They found that in 2021, COVID-19 was again the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. More than 415,000 people died from COVID-19 in 2021, while around 693,000 people died from heart disease and 605,000 people died from cancer.
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With flu rates low over the last two years, influenza was no longer in the top 10 leading causes of deaths. Suicide replaced it, and was the tenth leading cause of death in 2021.
The highest numbers of COVID-19 deaths occurred in Black people, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, thoughthe racial disparities in COVID-19 deathsdeclined between 2020 and 2021. Black Americans made up 13% of COVID-19 deaths, down from 16% in 2020, while deaths among white Americans went from around 60% to 65% in 2021.
“The year 2021 saw the highest death rate since 2003, with increases in many leading causes of death, including COVID-19 and unintentional injuries,” the CDC said. “… We must work to ensure equal treatment in all communities in proportion to their need for effective interventions that can prevent excess COVID-19 deaths.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.
source: people.com
