Author Kristy Woodson Harvey to speak at Interabang Books

 

Why are more than 300 people in the US still dying from COVID every week?

Experts say there is low vaccine uptake and people are not accessing treatments

LONDON -- Russia launched a large drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Saturday, injuring six and damaging buildings across the city as the next stage of a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia is set for today, with 390 people already freed and up to 1000 inmates expected to be released in the coming days.

Russia fired 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, mostly targeting Kyiv. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down six missiles and 245 drones.

At least 17 people were injured in Kyiv, with residential buildings and infrastructure damaged across multiple districts.

Elsewhere, Russian shelling in Kherson region over the past day killed two people and injured 13, damaging critical and social infrastructure, along with three apartment buildings and 12 private homes. Russian forces also killed four and injured eight more In the Donetsk region on Friday.

In Russia, Ukrainian drone attacks overnight and on Saturday morning injured three people and targeted industrial sites in the Lipetsk and Tula regions. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed 94 drones were downed over six regions.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) says Russian forces have executed more than 150 captured Ukrainian soldiers since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, describing it as part of a deliberate campaign by Moscow’s leadership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for stronger sanctions against Russia, saying Moscow’s aim is to prolong the war by rejecting ceasefire proposals.

The exchange was prepared following bilateral peace talks in Istanbul last week.

Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 23, 2025.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that once the swap is complete, Russia will hand over a draft "outlining the conditions for achieving a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive settlement agreement," according to Russian state media.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Friday that Ukraine is committed to a ceasefire and called the exchange the "first stage."

"We achieved 1,000 for 1,000. After this, if it will be successful, as I said first is exchanges, second is the ceasefire," he said.

Such exchanges have taken place throughout Russia's 3-year-old invasion, though the swap -- once completed -- will be by far the largest to date. Prisoner exchanges are one of the few areas in which Moscow and Kyiv have been able to reach an accord during the conflict.

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More than five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the United States, hundreds of people are still dying every week.

Last month, an average of about 350 people died each week from COVID, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While high, the number of deaths is decreasing and is lower than the peak of 25,974 deaths recorded the week ending Jan. 9, 2021, as well as weekly deaths seen in previous spring months, CDC data shows.

MORE: What we know about the safety, efficacy of mRNA vaccines amid recent scrutiny

Public health experts told ABC News that although the U.S. is in a much better place than it was a few years ago, COVID is still a threat to high-risk groups.

"The fact that we're still seeing deaths just means it's still circulating, and people are still catching it," Dr. Tony Moody, a professor in the department of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News.

The experts said there are a few reasons why people might still be dying from the virus, including low vaccination uptake, waning immunity and not enough people accessing treatments.

Low vaccine uptake, waning immunity

During the 2024-25 season, only 23% of adults aged 18 and older received the updated COVID-19 vaccine as of the week ending April 26, according to CDC data.

Among children, just 13% of them received the updated COVID vaccine over the same period, the data shows.

This photo shows a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, Bivalent, at AltaMed Medical clinic in Los Angeles, Oct. 6, 2022.

Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images

Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccinologist and president and co-director of the Atria Research Institute -- which focuses on disease prevention -- said there are likely not enough people receiving the vaccine, which is contributing to the number of weekly COVID deaths.

However, for those who have received the vaccine, some may not be developing a proper immune response.

"There are some people who may be genetically inclined to not respond well to the vaccine. That's the topic I have studied with other viral vaccines," Poland told ABC News. "The more common issue is that people are immunocompromised and can't respond well."

Additionally, Poland said that immunity from COVID-19 vaccines wanes over time, increasing the likelihood of being infected.

This is why the current recommendation for those aged 65 and older is to receive two doses of the updated COVID vaccine six months apart.

MORE: FDA plans to limit COVID shots to those over 65 or with high-risk conditions

"Another reason for death due to COVID is being elderly, being what we call immunosenescent, where you do not have the immunologic ability to respond the same way you did in your 30s and 40s," Poland said. "On top of it, if you do get infected by the time you're in your 70s, 80s, there is some … accumulating co-morbidity."

CDC data shows that those aged 75 and older currently have the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths at 4.66 per 100,000.

Not accessing COVID treatments

Currently, there are treatments for COVID-19 patients in the form of antiviral pills, including molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Paxlovid from Pfizer.

Both treatments must be started within five days of COVID symptoms appearing and are given twice daily for five days, with Merck's being four pills each time and Pfizer's being three pills each.

There is also remdesivir, an intravenous medication that must be started within seven days of COVID symptoms appearing.

In this photo illustration, a box of Pfizer's Paxlovid is displayed, July 7, 2022, in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"I do think that we don't necessarily make use of the tools that we have on hand in the best way possible," Moody said. "I've certainly talked to people who have gotten medications when they got COVID and they made a huge difference. … The trials' data would definitely suggest that the drugs are effective."

"I do think that we may not be using the drugs as effectively, or in as many people as it might help," he continued.

Moody said it's possible some COVID patients are coming down with symptoms but are not going to the doctor until their symptoms become severe. Alternatively, some people are not undergoing COVID testing when they have symptoms and, therefore, are missing COVID diagnoses.

"I'm sure that there are people who are infected who are not being detected [and not being] treated," Moody said, but he added that not everyone needs to be tested regularly and that just high-risk people should test more frequently.

Author Kristy Woodson Harvey to speak at Interabang Books 

She’ll discuss her latest novel, “Beach House Rules,” at the June 4 event.

Bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey will take part in a free discussion and book-signing at Interabang Books on June 4 at 6 p.m.

Harvey has written several books, including The Wedding Veil, Under the Southern Sky and the Peachtree Bluff series, which NBC is developing into a TV show.

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Her latest novel, Beach House Rules, follows Charlotte Sitterly and her daughter as their lives are upended after Charlotte’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime. Forced to start over in a quirky beachside community of single moms, they discover unexpected friendships and a secret that shakes up the unconventional family they’ve forged.

Interabang Books is at 5600 W. Lovers Lane in Dallas. For details, visit interabangbooks.com.