91% of NC COVID deaths in 2021 were among those not fully vaccinated
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday told WRAL Data Trackers that more than 90 percent of people who died of COVID-19 deaths in the state this year were not fully vaccinated.
Put another way, 9 percent of those who died of COVID in the state since Jan. 1 were fully vaccinated, so-called breakthrough cases.
In all, 11,066 people have died of COVID in North Carolina in 2021. Since the pandemic began, more than 19,000 have died in the state. Of that number, 993 came in people who had been fully vaccinated, DHHS data shows.
The recent numbers line up with national data reported in September, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found unvaccinated Americans about 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19.
The data shows that the coronavirus vaccines, which were first administered in the United States one year ago Tuesday, have proven highly effective in preventing serious illness and death from the virus. A Harvard School of Public Health study found the Moderna version slightly more effective in preventing infection altogether and reducing the likelihood of hospitalization and death.
A study published Tuesday by The Commonwealth Fund estimated that, without the vaccine available, the United States would have seen an additional 1.1 million COVID deaths and more than 10 million additional hospitalizations.
