Overnight Health Care — US tops 900K COVID-19 deaths

Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here: thehill.com/newsletter-signup. 

A new poll asked Italians about different ways to eat Italian food. Hint: Don’t put pineapple on pizza.  

Today, we delve into new CDC research, and the U.S. marks a shocking 900,000 COVID-19 deaths, on the way towards 1 million.  

For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan (psullivan@thehill.com) and Nathaniel Weixel (nweixel@thehill.com). Write to us with tips and feedback, and follow us on Twitter: @PeterSullivan4 and @NateWeixel. 

Let’s get started. 

US passes 900K COVID-19 deaths

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 900,000 people, fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant, less than two months after the nation passed 800,000. 

Despite three widely available vaccines that effectively prevent severe illness and death, only 64 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The vaccination campaign has been beset by inequities, misinformation and political sabotage, and the unvaccinated are the ones suffering the most. More people have died in the 13 months since the vaccines have been available than before.  

Data from the CDC show the total number of deaths involving COVID-19 in 2020 was 385,343.  

The U.S. has one of the highest per capita rates of recorded COVID-19 cases in the world, with about 15,000 cases per 100,000 people, according to a New York Times tracker.  

While increasing evidence shows omicron may be less likely to cause death or serious illness than the delta variant, the sheer infectiousness and the speed at which it spreads has overwhelmed hospitals, primarily with people who have not been vaccinated. 

Read more here. 

More vaccinated adults hospitalized with omicron

A higher proportion of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 during the period of omicron dominance were fully vaccinated compared to the period of delta dominance, according to a new analysis. Still those people were also less likely to be severely ill or die. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis of a single hospital in Los Angeles found there were more hospitalizations during omicron compared to delta, but that among omicron-period patients, vaccination — particularly vaccination plus a booster dose — was associated with lower likelihood of admission to an intensive care unit. 

Among adults at least 65 years old hospitalized during omicron, vaccination was also associated with a lower likelihood of death while hospitalized.  

“COVID-19 vaccination, particularly a booster dose, continues to be critical in mitigating the health care burden of the omicron variant,” the CDC concluded in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

Omicron-period hospitalizations overall were associated with a lower likelihood of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and death while hospitalized, compared with delta-period hospitalizations.  

With COVID or because of it? According to the CDC, that distinction doesn’t really matter.  “Even patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results…