Powell's death doesn't mean vaccines don't work, LI experts say

Doctor: Number of vaccinated people who have died 'is minuscule'

Reacting to the death of Colin Powell at 84 due to COVID-19 complications, local medical experts cited among other things that the former U.S. secretary of state was weakened by a fatal blood disease.

It "would be entirely the wrong message to send" that the vaccines don’t work, said Dr. David Battinelli, vice president and chief medical officer at Northwell Health. "The numbers of deaths of people who have died after being vaccinated is minuscule."

Powell suffered from multiple myeloma, which made his immune system substantially weak, Battinelli said. That, along with his age, made it difficult to fight off the virus.

At least 90% of people who are hospitalized or die from COVID-19 are not vaccinated, Battinelli and other experts said. Those who are vaccinated and are hospitalized or die generally have underlying conditions, which weaken their ability to fight back against a virus, they said.

See what else local experts had to say on the issue in this story by Bart Jones.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci said vaccinated people can enjoy trick-or-treating on Halloween and family gatherings for the holiday season, especially as health officials are expected to approve vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 in early November.

Six Long Islanders lost their lives to the virus on Saturday and the seven-day average for positivity was 2.69% for Long Island, according to statistics released by state officials.

The map below shows vaccination rates for Long Island ZIP codes as of Oct. 14.

Search this map and a table to look up the vaccination rate for your community and others on LI. You'll also find charts showing the latest local trends in new cases, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.

See more coronavirus headlines below.