A Statistical Analysis of COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections and Deaths
District of Columbia | August 23, 2021
COVID-19 has now infected more than 35 million Americans and claimed the lives of more than 600,000.1
Johns Hopkins University, “COVID-19 Map,” Coronavirus Resource Center, https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html (accessed March 5, 2021).
After the introduction of the vaccines, COVID-19 cases and deaths declined significantly, although there has been a recent uptick in cases due to the Delta variant.
The Delta variant, scientifically known as the B.1.617.2. variant, is a mutation of the coronavirus that surfaced in India in December 2020. The strain rapidly became the dominant variant in several countries, including the United Kingdom.2
Kathy Katella, “5 Things to Know About the Delta Variant,” Yale Medicine, August 3, 2021, https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/5-things-to-know-delta-variant-covid (accessed August 4, 2021).
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates, at the end of July 2021, the Delta variant represented more than 80 percent of new U.S. COVID-19 cases.3
Madeline Holcombe and Theresa Waldrop, “More Infectious Delta Variant Makes Up 83% of New US Coronavirus Cases as Vaccine Hesitancy Persists,” CNN, July 20, 2021 https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html (accessed August 4, 2021).
This fact has surely contributed to Americans’ concerns over the efficacy of vaccines, but the data show that vaccines provide significant protection against serious illness or death from the virus, including the Delta variant.
While some uncertainty remains, as it would with any novel virus, the CDC has done a poor job of using existing evidence to quell the public’s concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy. Indeed, CDC officials and other government officials have added to Americans’ confusion with conflicting messages, often unconnected to any supporting data.4
For additional examples, see Doug Badger and Robert E. Moffit, “COVID-19 and Federalism: Public Officials’ Accountability and Comparative Performance,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3638, July 26, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/BG3638.pdf.
In the latest such message, on July 27, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced new guidelines that imply that the vaccines offer little protection against the Delta variant…. (Excerpts from the Heritage Foundation)