ATLANTA — More than 13,500 Georgians who died of COVID-19 could still be alive if the majority of the population had gotten vaccinated, according to a new study. That represents more than half of COVID-19 deaths in the Georgia.
Researchers at Harvard, Brown and Microsoft released new data on vaccine-preventable deaths by state.
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The data looked at peak vaccination rates in each state and created alternate scenarios in which vaccination rates continued at the same level until every adult in the state was vaccinated. The study then gave an estimate of the “number of vaccine preventable deaths that would have been averted in each state.”
At least 25,737 people have died from the virus in Georgia.
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According to the study, of those, 13,598 deaths in Georgia could have been prevented by a COVID-19 vaccine.
Nationwide, the study estimated that more than 300,000 COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented by the vaccine.
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When the vaccines were widely available in early 2021, there was huge demand. That demand dropped off by summer due to a variety of factors, including politics and vaccine skepticism.
A year later, just 56% of Georgia’s population has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
©2022 Cox Media Group
