Former CDC director claims 40% of Maryland Covid deaths from the past 6-8 weeks were fully vaccinated

Dr. Robert Redfield, the former CDC Director, claimed that nearly 40% of Covid-19 deaths in the state of Maryland have been among the fully-vaccinated.

On Fox News, Redfield talked to host Martha MacCallum about Covid-19 and vaccinations following former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s death on Monday. Redfield revealed that in the past 6-8 weeks, 40% of the Covid-19 deaths in Maryland have been people who were fully vaccinated. In the wake of Powell’s death, Fox News highlighted his accomplishments and life by inviting several guests onto the show. One of those was Redfield, who served in the Army with Powell. Redfield is the former CDC Director and currently serves as an advisor to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

As a “world-renowned virologist” and someone who worked for the CDC at the beginning of the pandemic, he has become an expert on the Covid-19 virus. Redfield highlighted the importance of “maintaining immunity”, referring to getting a booster shot. He told MacCullum how people seem to understand the urgency of becoming fully vaccinated, but not as much for being reimmunized.

“Those over 65 and those 16-65 with comorbidities … need to get boosted […] We lost a lot of individuals during this period where their immunity has waned” (Archive). According to Redfield, a lot of people think it’s “rare” for vaccinated people to die from the virus until it happens, underscoring this sentiment with the statistic that over 40% of Covid-19 deaths in Maryland in the last two months have been among the vaccinated.

Booster shots for the Covid-19 virus have recently become available to people who have received the initial dose(s) of the vaccine at least six months ago. People are being encouraged to get booster shots to maintain immunity, like Redfield said. The FDA is moving towards allowing people to get a booster shot that comes from a different company than their first (and second) shot.