Which Groups Are Still Dying of Covid in the U.S.?

Covid-19 deaths in the US have fallen 90 percent from their peak in January, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, as the nation reopens and restrictions lifted, the virus continues to kill hundreds of people every day. By the end of May, there were still nearly 2,500 weekly deaths attributed to Covid-19.

Weekly Covid-19 deaths

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Week ends
19 Dec 2020

April 24, 2021

March 13, 2021

Vaccinations have started

All adults eligible for vaccination

100 million doses administered

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: The last few weeks are most likely undercounts. The dates refer to June 9th for the weeks from December 5th, 2020 to May 22nd, 2021.

More than half of the US population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and it is the remaining unvaccinated population that is causing the ongoing deaths, experts say.

After the first emergency vaccines were approved in December, prioritizing older populations over younger groups, the proportion of those aged 75 and over declined immediately.

In turn, younger populations began to report a higher percentage of Covid-19 deaths than they did at the height of the pandemic – a trend that continued as vaccine eligibility opened up to all adults. While deaths have declined in all age groups, around half of Covid-19 deaths now affect people aged 50 to 74, compared with just a third in December.

Proportion of Covid-19 deaths by age group

Groups, their proportion of the total deaths decreased and elevated from December to May

25%

50%

75%

Week ends
19 Dec 2020

April 24, 2021

March 13, 2021

75+

Under 30

30 to 49

50 to 74

Vaccinations have started

All adults eligible for vaccination

100 million doses administered

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: The last few weeks are most likely undercounts. The dates refer to June 9th for the weeks from December 5th, 2020 to May 22nd, 2021.

"Previously, at the beginning of the pandemic, we saw people over 60 years old who had numerous comorbidities," said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease expert at the Medical University of South Carolina. "I don't see this that often anymore." Instead, she said, recent hospital admissions have been skewed to "younger people who haven't been vaccinated."

More than 80 percent of people over 65 have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, compared to around half of 25 to 64 year olds who received a dose. From the C.D.C. Data collected on so-called breakthrough infections – those that occur in people who have been vaccinated – indicate an extremely low death rate in people who had received a Covid-19 vaccine.

"I still think that unfortunately the tale is still widespread among younger people that they cannot suffer the side effects associated with Covid," said Dr. Kuppalli, who added that young people can actually still have serious consequences from the virus.

Still, those 50 and older continue to make up the bulk of Covid-19 deaths. Among this cohort, white Americans are driving changes in death patterns. At the height of the pandemic, more than half of all Covid-19 deaths were among whites aged 75 and older. Today they make up less than a third.

Proportion of Covid-19 deaths by race and age

Groups, their proportion of the total deaths decreased and elevated from December to May

Aged 50 to 74

25%

50%

Week ends
19 Dec 2020

April 24, 2021

March 13, 2021

Spanish

Asian

black

White

Vaccinations have started

All adults eligible for vaccination

100 million doses administered

Age 75+

25%

50%

Week ends
19 Dec 2020

April 24, 2021

March 13, 2021

Spanish

Asian

White

black

Vaccinations have started

All adults eligible for vaccination

100 million doses administered

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: The last few weeks are most likely undercounts. Dates refer to June 9, 2020 for the weeks December 5, 2020 to May 22, 2021. Asian, black and white values refer to non-Hispanic groups. Not all racing groups are included.

The middle-aged population of all ethnicities accounts for a higher proportion of Covid-19 deaths than in December.

The magnitude of the decline in deaths is not uniform across all regions, however, and cumulative vaccination rates among black and Hispanic populations remain unchanged, according to demographics from the C.D.C. continues to lag behind those of the Asian and white populations.

The sharpest declines were seen in older white patients and also in Asians under 30, a group whose weekly Covid-19 deaths were in the single digits even during the peak of the pandemic.

Percentage change in Covid-19 deaths from December to May

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: The dates refer to June 9th. The table shows the change from the week ending December 5, 2020 to the week ending May 22, 2021. Asian, black, and white values refer to non-Hispanic groups. Not all racing groups are included.

The remaining deaths are mainly caused by those who have yet to be vaccinated, said Dr. Kuppalli and described two main groups within this population group: those who choose not to get vaccinated because of misinformation and politicization surrounding the vaccine, and those who remain unvaccinated because of other factors, including access.

“I think we still have work to do with this population. Especially in hard-to-reach population groups, such as B. rural people, ethnic and racial minorities, homeless people, people who have no access to medical care. "

Covid-19 deaths are still widespread in certain groups.

While deaths from the virus in nursing homes have decreased by more than 90 percent since December, around 200 people still die from Covid-19 in the facilities, which is seven percent of all deaths from the virus nationwide.

Proportion of Covid 19 deaths by place of death

Groups, their proportion of the total deaths decreased and elevated from December to May

25%

50%

75%

100%

Week ends
19 Dec 2020

April 24, 2021

March 13, 2021

Old people's home

Health facility

Patient's home

Vaccinations have started

All adults eligible for vaccination

100 million doses administered

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Note: The last few weeks are most likely undercounts. The dates refer to June 9th for the weeks from December 5th, 2020 to May 22nd, 2021. Not all locations are included.

The proportions of Covid-19 deaths that mention conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure have also remained similar during the peak of the pandemic.

Although there is no longer a large epicenter, small pocket death rates are still high across the country.

Covid-19 death rate across the country

Seven-day average of deaths per 100,000

Source: New York Times database of reports from state and local health authorities and hospitals | Note: Deaths include both confirmed and probable deaths from Covid-19. The dates are as of May 22nd.

"It could be something that will be with us for a while," said Dr. Gavin Harris, who works in the intensive care units at Emory University Hospital. "If we don't get 75 percent, 70 percent of the people with vaccinations, we're going to see significant numbers of deaths over the long term."