The COVID-19 percent positivity rate has fallen, even with the proliferation of the Delta Variant in the U.S., owing to the success of the nationally led COVID-19 vaccine effort. For 42 out of the 50 U.S. states, the stay-at-home orders, self-quarantine, and even masks, are in the rear view mirror. 

The Commonwealth Fund has released its study on where we would most likely be, had the vaccine roll out failed for any reason. The study found that the success of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the achievements made to date on its rollout, have averted the deaths of approximately 279,000 Americans this Spring, 2021, and prevented over 1,250,000 hospitalizations that would likely otherwise have occurred. The data showed over 26 million more Americans would have contracted COVID-19 in the Spring of 2021, had the vaccine and/or its rollout not taken place.

The Commonwealth Fund is a private philanthropic Foundation established in 1918, Its mandate is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, and people of color.