6,617 Fully Vaccinated Americans Have Died Of COVID-19: CDC

KEY POINTS

More than 16,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19
There are currently 62,800 patients in hospitals with COVID-19
A forecast predicts there will be an estimated 740,000 COVID-19 deaths by Nov. 5

More than 6,000 fully vaccinated Americans have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Oct. 4, the CDC has received reports of 6,617 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths among fully vaccinated Americans. Of the total number of deaths, 86% or 5,660 occured in people aged 65 and older; 44% or 2,902 occured in female patients; and 15% or 968 involved patients who did not exhibit coronavirus-related symptoms or whose deaths were not related to COVID-19.

The CDC’s data also showed that at least 16,889 fully vaccinated Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. A large majority of hospitalizations (67%) involved patients aged 65 and older. At least 49% of hospitalizations occured in females, while 15% involved patients who were asymptomatic or who were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19.

Despite this, COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations across the U.S. are steadily declining and are expected to decline further over the next four weeks. A CDC forecast predicts there would be 740,000 to 762,000 deaths by Nov. 6. Currently, the U.S. has recorded 719,452 coronavirus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The forecast also predicted there could be up to 10,100 new confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations by Nov. 5. As of Wednesday, there were 62,800 patients in hospitals with COVID-19, according to data from the Health and Human Services.

Despite the projected decrease in newly reported admissions and deaths, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned against another possible surge, noting that the virus is not yet under control.

“We had an acceleration. We had a peak. … All three of the parameters — cases, hospitalizations and deaths — are going down. But we have got to do better than that,” Fauci told The Washington Post. “We can get to control, without a doubt. It is within our power and within our capability.”

As of Wednesday, the U.S. has fully vaccinated 56.6% of the country’s total population. At least 65.6% have also received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.