November 1, 2021 – In October, we finally witnessed some improvement in vaccine equity in the United States. We also observed a trend toward younger vaccinations. Still, more progress is needed.
For too long, persons of color did not engage in the vaccination effort at the same rate as the general population. Whether because of access concerns or due to hesitation stemming from historical issues, Blacks sought the Covid-19 vaccine less often than other races and ethnicities. Hispanics, too, fell behind in this effort.
Studying the numbers of second vaccinations during October, Blacks, Hispanics, and multi-racial persons made up some ground during the month. With 12% of the population, Blacks received 14% of the second vaccinations delivered; Hispanics, 17% of the people, accounted for 20% of second vaccinations; and multi-racial persons, 2% of the population, received 6% of the second vaccinations (CDC data).
Second vaccinations also trended younger in October. 20-to-39-year-olds received 30% of these vaccines while accounting for 20% of the population. 18-to-24-year-olds (9% of the population) received 13% of these vaccines. 12-to-15-year-olds (5% of the population) received 8% of second vaccinations.
Further progress should come later this week, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers approval of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. Notably, this age group had the second-highest rate of new cases per capita last week. Only 30-to-49-year-olds posted a higher rate. Thus, approval represents a critical step in our ongoing fight against this virus.
Our most vulnerable age group, senior citizens, have set a torrid pace in these vaccinations:
- 97% have received at least one shot
- 85% are fully vaccinated
- 20% have received a booster
As a result, senior citizens encountered the second-fewest cases per capita last week. Only persons four years and younger experienced a lower rate.
Meanwhile, the Delta wave continues receding in the United States. Experts anticipate continued progress, at least throughout November. This improvement contrasts sharply with last fall‘s severe and long-lasting surge in new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
New reported cases fell for the eighth consecutive week in the U.S., reaching their lowest level since late July. Estimated infections – considering unreported and undetected cases – plunged 70% since peaking at the end of August.
This prolonged decline has relieved pressure on our health care system and has reduced the unfortunate loss of life from the virus. Covid patients occupied only one of every seven beds last week, a huge relief from where we had been earlier in the year. At its peak in January, Covid patients lay in two of every five beds. As recently as September 4, there were twice as many Covid patients in the hospital as last week.
Flu visits declined for the seventh straight week. This rate exceeds the rate for the corresponding week for all except one year in the past 15. Still, the atypical decline relieves pressure on families and the healthcare system.
Deaths with Covid-19 remain too high, with an average of 1,200 people dying with the virus in the U.S. each day last week. Even so, this rate declined steadily over the past month, reaching a two-month low last week.
Contributing writer:
Mark A. Van Sumeren, strategic advisor, Medical Devices & Integrated Delivery Networks
Health Industry Advisor LLC, provides a regular report on COVID-19 numbers for the health care industry.
For more information, or to sign up for the report, contact Mark at Mark.VanSumeren@HealthIndustryAdvisor.com; or visit www.HealthIndustryAdvisor.com.