After Nearly Three Years, Who Is Dying From COVID Now?

As we approach almost three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels both like this virus has haunted us for decades and as if it was just yesterday that shutdowns, masks, and quarantine pods became a part of our reality. There have been over 1.2 million confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. since February 2020, a number so vast that it becomes incomprehensible, easier to ignore than try to wrap our minds around. By now, most Americans are both vaccinated and/or have had COVID-19 at least once, and effective treatments like Paxlovid have made it less deadly than before. This holiday season, it feels like pandemic urgency has waned as COVID-19 has become part of the new normal.  

Still Over 300 COVID-19 Deaths Daily 

Yet the Centers for Disease Control tracks over 300 people dying of COVID-19 on average every day in recent weeks. Scientific American looked at who is currently dying of COVID-19, and found that, by and large, it is the people over age 65 who are most at risk. At the August 2022 peak, 91.9 % of COVID-19 deaths were people over the age of 65, although that number dropped slightly as autumn continued. And it is clear that the older you get, the more at risk you are. People over the age of 85 have made up 38% of COVID-19 fatalities since May 2022, and COVID-19 deaths of those in long-term care facilities tripled between April and August 2022.

Scientific American also notes that geographic location plays a role, as people in rural areas experience a greater death toll. Intriguingly though, some of the initial racial inequities in COVID-19  fatalities began to even out in the second half of 2022. While communities of color originally saw vastly greater death tolls, starting in October 2021 the racial disparities began decreasing as white fatalities increased. This has held true during times of normal COVID-19 infection rates, but Scientific American cautions that in times of coronavirus surges, when access to hospitals and healthcare becomes harder, COVID-19 deaths still impact Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American households at a greater rate.

The elderly remain the group most at risk of dying from COVID-19

Vaccination Changes

The Washington Post hypothesizes that the racial equalizing of pandemic deaths is attributed to vaccination hesitancy, medical mistrust, and skepticism among white rural communities. Researchers found that although initially Black and white communities presented the same level of reluctance to receive the coronavirus vaccine, Black communities got over this hesitancy faster. By far the greatest determinant in COVID-19 fatality is vaccination status. In August 2022, unvaccinated people died at six times the rate of vaccinated people. Statistically, most people who die from COVID-19 now are at least partially vaccinated with one shot, but there is a wide difference between people who got only one shot versus those who have received both doses and stay up to date with boosters.

In summary, COVID-19 continues to impact each American on some level, but remains a real threat for the unvaccinated and the elderly. Yasmin Tayag muses in The Atlantic about what it means to still care about COVID-19 these days, at this weird point in time in which many people will experience limited risk, but a smaller minority remains at high risk. Tayag comes to the conclusion that while it is tempting to think on an individual level that we will most likely be fine, the higher path is to figure out ways to minimize exposure for higher risk individuals. Whether that’s helping Grandma book a booster shot, or wearing a mask for a few days before visiting someone who is immunocompromised, she offers a strategy of communal awareness.  The reality is that COVID-19 is here with us to stay, shaping not just our death numbers, but also our ways of life.