By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Mar 7 2023Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc. *Important notice: Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Background The deployment of effective COVID-19 vaccines was initiated in the United States in early 2021. Although there was a shortage in vaccine supply at the initial phase of deployment, the country successfully increased its vaccine coverage by mid-April 2021. In the current study, scientists have simulated state-level COVID-19 mortality and vaccination frequency to estimate the number of COVID-19 deaths that could have been prevented by increasing COVID-19 vaccine coverage in the United States.
The model was used to estimate the number of vaccine-preventable deaths both at the state- and national levels between January 2021 and April 2022. The model identified a significant variation in the proportion of vaccine-preventable deaths between states, with Massachusetts showing 25% and Alaska showing 74% vaccine-preventable deaths.