Americans who got vaccinated against COVID-19 during the first five months of the country's vaccination effort saved an estimated 139,393 lives, according to a study published Aug. 18 in Health Affairs.
The U.S. recorded 550,000 COVID-19 deaths on May 9, a total the study said would have been 709,000 without any COVID-19 vaccinations.
This reduction in deaths varied state-to-state. Vaccinations in New York led to the largest reduction, an estimated 11.7 fewer COVID-19 deaths per 10,000 adults. Hawaii saw the smallest reduction, an estimated 1.1 fewer deaths per 10,000 adults.