According to New Orleans-based data analyst, Jeff Asher over half of Louisianans 70-years-old and older are estimated to have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine so far.
Nearly 70 percent of all COVID-related deaths have come from that age group and Asher said due to this we could see a permanent, significant reduction in new COVID deaths.
“It is certainly plausible that the UK variant will lead to more cases here but it is also plausible that we will be able to control it through the large-scale vaccinations that we are seeing,” said Asher.
12 percent of the total population in Louisiana has been vaccinated.
Asher said the new, faster pace of vaccinations may mean we won’t experience a fourth wave of the pandemic especially given the seemingly imminent approval of Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine.
“They (J&J) are talking about 20 million shots in March? That’s a game-changer for us,” said Asher.
New COVID cases and COVID-related hospitalizations have fallen by about seventy percent since the all-time peak in early January.
Authorities believe the pandemic will be under control once 70 to 80 percent of the population is vaccinated, but Asher said that’s still many months away due to the fact that herd immunity can not be achieved until children are eligible to receive the vaccine.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health COVID Dashboard, 60 percent of those vaccinated so far have been women.
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