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Cape Cod Hits Grim Milestone: 500 Deaths from COVID-19

A banner at the West End of Main Street in Hyannis acknowledging the victims of COVID-19 on Cape Cod.
Stephen Colella
A banner at the West End of Main Street in Hyannis acknowledging the victims of COVID-19 on Cape Cod.

500 Cape Cod residents have now died from COVID-19, a year and a half since the pandemic began.

The Cape reached this grim milestone yesterday.

Barnstable County health officials say that far fewer people have been dying from the virus since the rollout of vaccines, but still, at least 10 Cape residents have died since the beginning of September.

Deputy director of the county human services Department Vaira Hairik says the Cape is still seeing fatalities from COVID-19 because 1 in 5 eligible residents still have not been vaccinated. She says the vaccine has been effective in stopping serious illnesses.

Still, far fewer Cape residents have died compared to Bristol County where there have been nearly 2,000 deaths from COVID-19, and where only about 60 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

Only 6 people have died on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard combined, and they have the highest vaccination rates in the state.

Massachusetts has recorded over 18,000 deaths from the virus, total.

Sam Houghton left CAI in February, 2023, to become News Editor at the Martha's Vineyard Times.
He worked at CAI since the summer of 2017. Before that, he worked at the Falmouth Enterprise, where he covered local politics.