US COVID-19 death rate in June shows why you should get vaccinated ASAP

By Brittany Roston/July 8, 2021 2:16 pm EST

The COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available in the USA since late spring, but many people still haven't received the shot. The reasons range from apathy to conspiracy theories, yet the consequences are the same: those who are unvaccinated remain at risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and developing a severe case of COVID-19. The nation's most recent death rate statistics underscore this reality.

According to the CDC, more than half of the total US population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with nearly 48-percent fully vaccinated. Among adults ages 18 and older, more than 67-percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 58.4-percent fully vaccinated.

Despite the progress, COVID-19 cases have started increasing once again in the US, something largely attributed to the Delta variant now widespread in the nation. According to Johns Hopkins University, these cases directly reflect COVID-19 vaccine efficacy: states with low vaccination rates are seeing far more COVID-19 cases compared to states that have high vaccination rates.

The contrast in death rate between those who have been vaccinated against the virus and those who haven't is stark. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths in the US last month involved patients who hadn't received the vaccine at 99.2-percent. Figures from individual states are also rolling in that mirror the same reality.

Maryland, for example, has published its June figures, revealing that of the people in the state who died from COVID-19 last month, all of them were unvaccinated. The majority of new cases and hospitalizations likewise involved unvaccinated individuals.

The new statistics come amid growing concerns about the Delta variant, which is now the dominant strain in the US. President Biden recently said the government is preparing to step in and help states respond to the outbreaks expected to occur in places that have low vaccination rates.