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 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
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In the initial stages of the Omicron surge, American health officials looked at how other countries were withstanding the worst effects of the new variant and were reassured. But as the Omicron wave begins to subside, we're getting a fuller picture of how the U.S. fared during the latest surge — and the data is sobering. |
Compared with other wealthy countries, the coronavirus in the U.S. is killing people at much higher rates. Since Dec. 1, when the first Omicron case was detected in the U.S., the share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus has been at least 63 percent higher than in any other large, wealthy nation, according to a Times analysis of mortality figures. |
 | | Source: New York Times database; Johns Hopkins University |
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In recent months, the U.S. passed Britain and Belgium to have, among rich nations, the largest share of its population to have died from Covid over the entire pandemic. |
 | | Source: New York Times database; Johns Hopkins University |
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Hospital admissions in the U.S. also swelled to much higher rates than in Western Europe, leaving some states struggling to provide care. Americans are now dying from Covid at nearly double the daily rate of Britons and four times the rate of Germans. |
The only large European countries to exceed America's Covid death rates this winter have been Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, poorer nations where the best Covid treatments are relatively scarce. |
One of the main reasons for this discrepancy is the vaccination rate in the U.S. Despite having one of the world's most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations. |
 | | Source: C.D.C.; Our World in Data |
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The U.S. has fallen even further behind in administering booster shots. |
 | | Sweden data only available since Jan. 20. | Source: C.D.C.; Our World in Data |
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Crucially, the vaccination rates in older people also lag behind certain European nations. Twelve percent of Americans 65 and over have not been fully vaccinated, according to C.D.C. statistics. And 43 percent of people 65 and over have not received a booster shot. |
In England, by contrast, only 4 percent of people 65 and over have not been fully vaccinated and only 9 percent do not have a booster shot. Many Americans also have health problems like obesity and diabetes that increase the risk of severe Covid. |
 | | Source: C.D.C.; World Health Organization; Our World in Data; United Nations |
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The vaccination and booster campaigns in Western Europe have resulted in much more manageable waves. Deaths in Britain, for example, are one-fifth of last winter's peak, and hospital admissions are roughly half as high. |
Scientists said that some deaths could still be averted by taking precautions, like testing and wearing masks, around older and more vulnerable Americans. |
Some lawmakers, health officials and pundits are desperate to turn the page on the pandemic — urging a return to normalcy especially as we look past Omicron. But the toll from future waves will depend on what other variants emerge, scientists said, as well as what level of death Americans decide is tolerable. |
"We've normalized a very high death toll in the U.S.," said Anne Sosin, who studies health equity at Dartmouth. "If we want to declare the end of the pandemic right now, what we're doing is normalizing a very high rate of death." |
Vaccines delivered by injection produce powerful, long-lasting immunity against severe illness. But a potential downside is that their protection against infection is temporary, especially as the virus evolves. That's why some experts talk about the need for regular boosters. |
So is there a better way? |
Nasal vaccines may be the best way to prevent infections long term because they provide protection exactly where it is needed to fend off the virus: the mucosal linings of the airways, where the coronavirus first gains hold. |
But that's not all. Nasal or oral vaccines can immunize entire populations faster than injections, which require skill and time to administer. They are also more palatable to many, including children, than painful shots, and would circumvent shortages of needles and other materials. |
As we learned with Omicron, even three doses of a vaccine may not prevent infection. That's because injected vaccines produce antibodies in the blood, comparatively few of which make it to the nose, the entryway for the virus. Not so with mucosal vaccines, which instead coat the mucosal surfaces of the nose, mouth and throat with long-lasting antibodies. |
"It is essentially the difference between planting sentries at the gates to bar intruders and trying to oust them after they have already stormed the castle," Apoorva wrote. |
What else we're following |
We are fully vaccinated and have the booster. We have done our patriotic duty to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our community safe. After two years of the pandemic, now we have decided not to live our lives focused on how the unvaccinated will impact us and instead we are living our lives without fear of getting Covid. We used to have sympathy for the unvaccinated dying of Covid, but now we just see it as the consequence of poor judgment. With the vaccine and booster we know we can safely return back to "normal." — Tina Mills, Murrieta, Calif. |
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