https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status
Interesting statistics from Our World in Data. The link is to the weekly death rates in the US by unvaccinated, vaccinated but without the bivalent booster and vaccinated with the bivalent booster. The most recent week is the week of April 1, 2023. Interestingly, for the most recently reported weeks, by a tiny amount, those boosted with the bivalent booster had a slightly higher mortality rate than those vaccinated but without the bivalent booster (.14 vs. .17 per 100,000 for the week of April 1, 2023). Note that for February and March 2023 the mortality rates between those boosted with the bivalent booster and not boosted with the bivalent booster are very close and they go back and forth. The unvaccinated mortality rate was .61 per 100,000 for the week of April 1. So, for the week of April 1, 2023, the unvaccinated were 3.5x more likely to die than those vaccinated and boosted with the bivalent booster and 4.3x more likely to die than those vaccinated and not boosted with the bivalent booster.
I have several takeaways from this data. First, even for the unvaccinated, the recent Covid strains are not particularly dangerous to otherwise healthy people and the death rate is extraordinarily low for those vaccinated. I have seen nothing that changes what we've always known about Covid and co-morbidity. Some will think I'm callous, but my view is that we are all going to die--humans have a 100% mortality rate. So what should I fear? Let's look at the other causes of death. CDC's most recent cancer numbers show 146.2 deaths per 100,000 for 2019 (or 2.81 per week assuming even distribution of deaths). For heart disease, it's 161.5 per 100,000 for 2019 (or 3.10 per week). Comparing the numbers for the week of April 1 for Covid to the most recent cancer and heart disease deaths, I'm 20x more likely to die in a given week from cancer than Covid and I'm 22x more likely to die from heart disease than Covid. And that's for the population at large. I'm 61--some would say I'm getting close to a risk factor--but I'm in very good health (I exercise every day, eat fairly well, and I'm not overweight). I suspect my Covid death risk (being vaccinated and boosted once) is far less than .14 per 100,000. I don't lose much sleep worrying about dying of cancer or heart disease and I damn sure don't worry about Covid--especially after (1) being fully vaccinated and boosted once, (2) getting it in June 2022, (3) being exposed multiple times this summer during the recent spike in cases, and (4) observing the current hospitalization rates in SE Texas during the current spike of cases.
We all have our own concerns and risk tolerances and fears of the unknown and unknowable. Some will look at this data and say it supports their decision to get booster number 7+. That's OK by me. I'm also OK with someone who is otherwise healthy who decides to avoid more shots. Now if you are obese or have a significant risk factor then you should consider staying boosted.
BTW, I didn't know much about OWID. It appears to be funded, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It purports to be non-partisan and merely data-focused.