According to a recent CNN report, Covid 19 deaths are indeed declining.
In fact, as of Thursday, April 29th, the seven-day average of new deaths resulting from the virus was 670 per day in the United States.
For the United States, this indicates the lowest 7 day average since July of 2020… a significant improvement in a rather morbid set of numbers.
This number also indicates an 80% drop since January.
What’s to blame for this drop in Covid-related deaths?
Well, as it turns out, the vaccines deserve the lion’s share of the credit.
As more and more people get vaccines, and as the vaccines get time to work their magic, fewer people come down sick and require hospitalization.
Covid vaccinations have been driving the death toll downward.
Here are the details.
How Effective Are The Vaccines?
Now that the vaccines are rolled out and being administered, new data indicates that they’re quite effective in helping to cut-down on virus-related cases and deaths.
According to the data, the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been shown to be 94% effective in preventing real-world Covid hospitalizations among those aged 65 and older who received both doses of the vaccine.
The study also revealed that both vaccines were about 64% effective in preventing hospitalizations among older adults who had only received one dose.
(The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses for full vaccination.)
How Long Until We’re Rid Of The Virus?
According to doctors, it’ll take some time to see the full impact of the vaccines.
As of Friday, April 30th, 100 million people had been fully vaccinated in the United States.
But 43.6% of the population, which amounts to about 145 million people, had also received at least one dose.
Of course, vaccine rollout has taken time.
It doesn’t happen overnight.
But here’s the truth.
As the vaccine continues to roll out, and as more people get it, death rates and hospitalization rates are going to continue their downward trend.
But According To Doctors, We’re Not Necessarily Out Of The Woods Yet
There are a lot of people who still haven’t been vaccinated. In fact, we’re less than half-way done with the vaccination process, according to the numbers.
The real test will be the coming months.
According to the data, as long as Americans continue to get vaccinated at the current rate, we should continue to see downward trends… leading to the eventual beginning of the end of the pandemic.
But how long exactly will it take?
Well, the answer is that it depends on several factors.
New Covid variants threaten to undermine current vaccination efforts and blunt the effectiveness of the vaccines.
But there’s still a lot of leeway.
Even if the vaccine only ends up being only 70% effective, instead of the current level of 95%, the world still has an achievable path to herd immunity… enough to bring an end to the pandemic.
But as to when we can actually expect it to be over…
Well, we may not even be half-way through it.
Only time will tell for sure.
