The death from COVID-19 complications of former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday figures to add fuel to those who oppose vaccines, considering his family said he was fully vaccinated.
In reality, Powell's passing at 84 actually underscores the importance of vaccination against the coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that among the more than 187 million Americans who were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 12, it had received reports of 7,178 deaths from breakthrough infections. That's one fatality for every 26,000 vaccinated people, a powerful testament to the vaccines' effectiveness at preserving lives against a disease that has killed nearly 725,000 in this country.
“I’m afraid people will say the vaccine didn’t help him,'' said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
"But the mortality rate for vaccinated people is 11 times less than unvaccinated. People still die from the disease, especially if you are 84 and have underlying health risks. He is one of the unfortunate ones, but he was very high risk.''
Powell reportedly had battled Parkinson's disease and multiple myeloma, a cancer that impairs the body’s ability to fight infections.
Even among seniors in their 80s, who tend to have more underlying conditions that make them susceptible to disease, the unvaccinated have died of COVID at six times the rate of those who got the shots.
Powell's death, mourned by his many admirers internationally, was the exception to the vaccines' protection, not proof they don't work, health officials say.
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