Health and Science

New study finds unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die from Covid, CDC says

Key Points
  • More than 600,000 Covid cases from April through mid-July were analyzed and linked to vaccination status.
  • Those who were unvaccinated were about 4.5 times more likely to contract the virus, more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus, and 11 times more likely to die from the disease.
  • About 54% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Health care workers examine a 45 year old unvaccinated Covid-19 patient, after being turned from his stomach onto his back, at the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California on September 2, 2021.
Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images

Unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely than vaccinated people to die from Covid-19, a large study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

The study looked at Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in 13 states "and found further evidence of the power of vaccination," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a briefing Friday.

More than 600,000 Covid cases from April through mid-July were analyzed and linked to vaccination status.

Those who were unvaccinated were about 4.5 times more likely to contract the virus, more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus, and 11 times more likely to die from the disease.

A previous CDC study based on data from just 43,127 Covid cases in Los Angeles County between May and July found that unvaccinated people were five times more likely to contract Covid and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus.

About 54% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

"Vaccination works," Walensky said. "We have the scientific tools we need to turn the corner on this pandemic."

Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), takes off a protective mask during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Greg Nash | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The study will be published in the upcoming Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Friday.

President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a broad plan to boost Covid-19 vaccination rates in the U.S., pressuring private employers to immunize their workforce as well as mandating the shots for federal employees, contractors and health-care workers.