Fauci: 99 percent of Americans who died of COVID-19 last month were unvaccinated
Vaccinations save lives, experts say.
By
Christian Spencer | July 9, 2021
Story at a glance:
- In June, more than 9 out of 10 Americans, or 99.2 percent, who died from COVID-19 had not gotten vaccinated.
- The new variant accounts for 50 percent of the nation’s newest cases, and it dominates 80 percent of new cases in some regions.
- About 67 percent of American adults aged 18 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and only 58 percent are fully vaccinated.
There is a strong correlation between not getting vaccinated and dying inside a hospital because of COVID-19, according to the country’s top public health official.
Most of the people who died from COVID-19 were unvaccinated, said Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Biden's chief medical adviser,
The Guardian reported.
In June, more than 9 out of 10 Americans, or 99.2 percent, of those who died from COVID-19 had not gotten vaccinated.
In Maryland, 100 percent of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who died were not vaccinated, with 93 percent of those with new cases or those being hospitalized also are unvaccinated,
The Washington Post reported.
With the rise of the new delta variant in certain regions, the urgency of getting vaccinated has been placed in the spotlight once again.
The new variant accounts for 50 percent of the nation’s newest cases, and in some regions it dominates
80 percent of new cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in a statement.
The delta or B.1.617.2 variant was first identified in India in December 2020. While current vaccines were not designed to combat this variant, experts say they provide some protection as opposed to not being vaccinated.
President Biden, whose initial goal was to encourage 70 percent of the adult population to receive one vaccination shot by the Fourth of July — which wasn’t quite realized — has reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated
“We can’t get complacent now,” he said during a
press briefing. “Millions of Americans are still unvaccinated and unprotected. And because of that, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk, the people they care about are at risk.”
Data from the CDC shows that about 67 percent of American adults aged 18 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 59 percent are fully vaccinated.
The data also reveals that most of the people getting vaccinated are from coastal states on the West Coast and in the Northeast, while southern states are the most resistant.
Vaccine hesitancy is a political issue, stemming from one’s distrust in their government or media, or the belief that receiving life-saving vaccines or practicing socially distancing favors one political party over the other, according to a
WaPo-ABC poll.
“The solution is the vaccinations,” said
Asa Hutchinson, Republican governor of Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, on CNN’s
State of the Union on Sunday. “We’re in a race against this Delta variant, which spreads very fast, and every state is going to be faced with this.”
Na usisahau dr fauci yeye mwenyewe ana share kwenye kampuni za chanjo kainvest mamilioni ya dola sasa unatarajia ataongea ukweli ili aharibu biashara yake?
Fact-check: Does Anthony Fauci have millions invested in a coronavirus vaccine?
By Daniel Funke, PolitiFact.com
Posted Ap
[https://www-statesman-com]Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks March 31 about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. [Alex Brandon/The Associated Press]▲
This piece was originally published on PolitiFact.com on April 15, 2020.
The country's top infectious disease expert is discouraging the use of a potential COVID-19 treatment because he could earn millions of dollars from a vaccine, at least, that's according to a popular Facebook claim.
One post published by an anti-vaccine page on Sunday says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, "stands to lose 100 million dollars" on a coronavirus vaccine from Bill Gates because he invested in it.
"If everyone can be healed with the Malaria drug and a Z pack, there will be no need for the vaccine if we could use drugs already on the market that helps heal 98 percent of the cornovirus (sic) patients," reads the image. "That's why he's been so hesitant to put his seal of approval on this form of treatment that has shown to drastically improve hundreds of people's symptoms."
The post was flagged as part of Facebook's efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
As a member of the White House's coronavirus task force, Fauci has tempered expectations for the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients. The drugs, which are used to treat conditions like malaria and lupus, have shown some promise in alleviating coronavirus symptoms, but the research is not conclusive.
PolitiFact has seen a lot of misinformation about public officials' financial interests in hydroxychloroquine. Fauci has become a popular target for coronavirus disinformation, so we wanted to check out this post, too.
The Facebook post draws a false connection between Gates' philanthropy and Fauci's public remarks about hydroxychloroquine. There is no evidence that Fauci is personally financially invested in a coronavirus vaccine, and scientists still don't know if hydroxychloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19.
Gates Foundation supports coronavirus research
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is indirectly supporting the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases by funding a group that is helping the agency develop a potential coronavirus vaccine. But there is no evidence that Fauci himself stands to profit.
The Gates Foundation said in a Feb. 5 statement that it is investing up to $100 million for "the global response to the 2019 novel coronavirus." That includes efforts aimed at improving detection and treatment of the virus in addition to vaccine development.
"The foundation will commit up to $60 million to accelerate the discovery, development and testing of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for 2019-nCoV (the formal name for the coronavirus)," the statement reads.
While the Gates Foundation has supported the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the past, the philanthropy told PolitiFact in an email that it does not provide funding to the agency now, even though the agency is currently developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
During his March 11 testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Fauci said it could take a year and a half to roll out a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine. There are 70 vaccines in development, according to the World Health Organization — three of which are in clinical trials.
The first trial began in mid-March. The potential vaccine was developed by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists in partnership with pharmaceutical company Moderna, Inc. A search of the Securities Exchange Commission's database, which contains information on publicly traded companies, turned up no documents linking Fauci directly to Moderna.
According to a statement from the National Institutes of Health, which houses the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, manufacturing for the potential vaccine was supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a foundation that funds vaccine research. The Gates Foundation said in its February release that it will allocate some of its research and development funding to the coalition.
www.reuters.com
