2,675 Fully Vaccinated Americans Have Died Of COVID-19; 11,440 Breakthrough Cases Hospitalized

More than 2,600 fully vaccinated Americans have died of COVID-19 as the country continues to see a rise in the number of breakthrough hospitalizations, the latest data showed.

According to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2,675 Americans died of COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated as of Sept. 7. Among the total breakthrough deaths, 87% were people aged 65 and older, 44% were female patients and 21% were patients who were either asymptomatic or whose deaths were not COVID-related.

The latest data showed that authorities reported over 200 additional breakthrough deaths since Aug. 30, when the CDC reported 2,437 COVID-19 deaths among the fully vaccinated population.

As of Sept. 7, the U.S. recorded 11,440 breakthrough hospitalizations, a nearly 1,000 increase from the 10,471 breakthrough hospitalizations recorded at the end of August.

Among the total number of fully vaccinated individuals admitted for COVID-19, 7,954 were people aged 65 and older, 5,493 were females and 2,491 were asymptomatic or their hospitalization was not related to the novel coronavirus.

The CDC’s report comes as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have been dipping. As of Sunday, the country’s seven-day average of daily coronavirus cases was 144,300. The figure is down 14% from the case count on Sept. 1, when the country reported a daily average of 167,600 cases.

“It could represent that we have reached a peak and we are now on the way down,” Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CNBC.

Casadevall noted that the combination of vaccinations and surging infections in the U.S. during the summer could be helping to improve the situation in the country. However, he warned against declaring the end of the current wave, adding that the virus is unpredictable.

“I would just be careful declaring anything except some degree of optimism with the fact that the numbers are going down,” he added.

U.S. health officials have recorded 41,209,851 COVID-19 cases and 661,537 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.