COVID-19 Vaccination Greatly Reduced Morbidity, Mortality Burden in U.S.

WEDNESDAY, July 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The COVID-19 vaccination program in the United States prevented a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality, according to a study published online July 6 in JAMA Network Open.

Molly K. Steele, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a modeling study to estimate the number of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections and COVID-19-associated hospitalizations stratified by state, month, and age group from Dec. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, in the United States. To estimate the risks for infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, these estimates were combined with data on vaccine coverage and effectiveness.

The researchers found that from Dec. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, COVID-19 vaccination prevented an estimated 27 million infections, 1.6 million hospitalizations, and 235,000 deaths among vaccinated adults aged 18 years or older in the United States. Vaccination was estimated to have prevented 52, 56, and 58 percent of expected infections, expected hospitalizations, and expected deaths, respectively, among adults aged 18 years or older from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, 2021.

“Vaccination is an effective public health intervention with demonstrable impact, which will be critical in combination with nonpharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors write.

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