Tweet
10 hr ago
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD
We are losing ~400 Americans a day. In the last 7 days, we have lost 2,299 people. During August 2022 alone, we lost 15,284 Americans to COVID-19.
This means COVID-19 remains the third leading cause of death in our repertoire of threats. And it’s largely preventable. In the U.S., death rates are not back to pre-pandemic times; excess deaths are still 10% above “expected.” This is changing our average life expectancy. In fact, the U.S. experienced the sharpest two-year decline in life expectancy in nearly 100 years.
(Source: NVSS Vital Statistics Rapid Release)
We cannot accept this reality. So it’s important to recognize who is dying so public health officials, families, and communities can work together to decrease this toll. This isn’t a reflection of blame, but rather a measure of where we can do better.
Who is dying from COVID-19 today?
An incredibly simple question that is challenging to answer. Death records are delayed, and we have a very fragmented data infrastructure in the U.S. making it almost impossible to capture a national picture. Regardless, I tried to scrape together what we have.
Vaccination
It’s abundantly clear the majority of deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated (20% of Americans are still without even one dose). ...
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD
We are losing ~400 Americans a day. In the last 7 days, we have lost 2,299 people. During August 2022 alone, we lost 15,284 Americans to COVID-19.
This means COVID-19 remains the third leading cause of death in our repertoire of threats. And it’s largely preventable. In the U.S., death rates are not back to pre-pandemic times; excess deaths are still 10% above “expected.” This is changing our average life expectancy. In fact, the U.S. experienced the sharpest two-year decline in life expectancy in nearly 100 years.
(Source: NVSS Vital Statistics Rapid Release)
We cannot accept this reality. So it’s important to recognize who is dying so public health officials, families, and communities can work together to decrease this toll. This isn’t a reflection of blame, but rather a measure of where we can do better.
Who is dying from COVID-19 today?
An incredibly simple question that is challenging to answer. Death records are delayed, and we have a very fragmented data infrastructure in the U.S. making it almost impossible to capture a national picture. Regardless, I tried to scrape together what we have.
Vaccination
It’s abundantly clear the majority of deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated (20% of Americans are still without even one dose). ...