A new analysis suggests that if more people in the United States get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot by the end of the year, it could save 90,000 lives of people who might die from the disease this Fall & Winter.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the disease, which has seen periods of decline followed by periods of increased infections, could create another 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day. The study, by the Commonwealth Fund was published on Wednesday (Oct. 5th). There are currently more than 400 COVID-19 deaths daily on average in the United States.
Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, has served under Presidents from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden. He has been NIAID director for 48 of his 54 years with the agency.
Fauci said the biggest problem for Public Health in battling the COVID-19 pandemic has been misinformation. He said some suggested 'cures' turned out to be mostly worthless and in some cases dangerous--among them hydroxychloroquine and iverrmectin. "We needlessly lost many lives," he said.
Fauci pointed out that when the coronavirus began to spread in 2020, it was new and public health officials provided the best information they could at the time, "be we have now learned so much more."
He said fear of complications from getting vaccinated has been exaggerated. "The vaccines are safe. We now have a huge amount of data that shows you're much better off getting the vaccine--including boosters-- than not. The death rate among those who get COVID and have been vaccinated is only a small fraction of the rate for those who did not."
Fauci got his vaccination with the new version of the vaccine that targets the currently prevalent strain on the Stephen Colbert Late Show earlier this week.
As of September 28th, 109,970,532 Americans had received a booster, or 48.8 percent of the country's fully vaccinated population , according to the CDC's data.
Vermont had the highest rate of fully vaccinated people who have received boosters with 63.7%, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker. North Carolina, with only 29.4%, was the lowest. No other state had less than 35%.
Fauci, like this reporter, has been the object of much criticism from those who chose to politicize the pandemic. From the beginning, we have tried to provide the truth about the disease, the efforts to control its spread, and the vaccines. Unfortunately, the truth isn't popular with some.
As a long-term COVID sufferer, I urge you to get your vaccination including booster shot. A leading epidemioloist, with whom I have become well-acquainted because of the pandemic, says while my vaccinations didn't keep me from having repeat epidsodes, they likely saved my life by reducing the effects of the virus. I personally knew 19 people who died with the disease.
