Why 350 Americans died from COVID in a week: Experts explain
Coronavirus is still claiming the lives of hundreds of Americans each week. According to official data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 350 Americans, mostly from high-risk groups, died from COVID-19 last week. Though this number is a significant drop from the peak of 25,974 reported in the week ending Jan 9, 2021, the concern remains. Health officials are also monitoring a newly identified subvariant, NB.1.8.1.
350 Americans died from COVID-19 last week,(UnSplash)
“The fact that we’re still seeing deaths just means it’s still circulating, and people are still catching it,” Dr. Tony Moody, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News.
Medical experts have suggested a pool of factors that could be blamed for this recent spike in cases and deaths that have been reported as a result of the disease.
Vaccine intake and fading immunity
According to data released by the CDC, only 23% of adults aged 18 and older received the updated COVID-19 vaccine as of the week ending April 24 in the 2024-25 season. In addition, only 13% of children received the updated vaccine over the same period. This has led experts like Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccinologist and president and co-director of the Atria Research Institute, to blame low intake of the vaccine as a prime cause of the spike in the number of COVID-related deaths being reported.
Even after taking the vaccine shot, the immune system may fail to develop an appropriate response mechanism. This results in immunity gradually fading over time, increasing the chances of infection.
Age may also be a contributing factor to developing a severe infection. As Dr Poland told ABC News, “Another reason for death due to COVID is being elderly, being what we call immunosenescent, where you do not have the immunologic ability to respond the same way you did in your 30s and 40s. On top of it, if you do get infected by the time you’re in your 70s, 80s, there is some … accumulating co-morbidity.”
Hence, those in the age bracket of 65 and above are advised to take two shots of the updated vaccine six months apart from each other.
Lack of access to suitable treatments
Another reason for the spike has been blamed on ill-timed treatment measures to counter the disease on patients’ end. Doctors fear that many people may avoid seeking treatment until their symptoms become severe which prevents them from detecting the disease in its early stages.
Antiviral pills, including molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Paxlovid from Pfizer, are currently available at pharmacies to help provide suitable treatment for COVID-19. Doses of each of these medications can be started five days from when symptoms first surface. The intake demands four pills of Merck and five pills of Pfizer to be taken twice on a daily basis. Remedesvir is an intravenous medication that can be started seven days after symptoms appear.
“I do think that we don’t necessarily make use of the tools that we have on hand in the best way possible,” Dr Moody told ABC News. “I’ve certainly talked to people who have gotten medications when they got COVID and they made a huge difference. … The trials’ data would definitely suggest that the drugs are effective.”
People at high risk of catching the disease are advised to get themselves tested regularly to aid early detection and improvement of any existing infection.
The surge in the NB.1.8.1 variant has reported several cases in Asia, Singapore, and Hong Kong ever since its discovery in China.
By Stuti Gupta
