Covid vaccines prevented at least 330,000 deaths among U.S. seniors in 2021, health officials say

Covid vaccines prevented astatine slightest 330,000 deaths and astir 700,000 hospitalizations among big Medicare recipients successful 2021, the Health and Human Services Department said successful a caller study published Friday.

The simplification successful hospitalizations owed to vaccination saved much than $16 cardinal successful aesculapian costs, according to the HHS report. A 10% summation successful vaccination sum was associated with a 12% and 15% diminution successful the chances of hospitalization and death, respectively, among big Medicare recipients, according to the study.

The HHS survey looked astatine county-level information connected vaccination rates and changes successful hospitalization and decease among a illustration of Medicare beneficiaries ages 18 and older. Texas and Hawaii were not included successful the survey owed to incomplete vaccination data.

The overwhelming bulk of Medicare recipients, 86%, are ages 65 and older. Select groups nether 65, specified arsenic radical with disabilities, are besides eligible for coverage. People who are not seniors marque up astir 14% of Medicare beneficiaries, according to information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The aged look the highest hazard of terrible illness and decease from Covid. Nearly 93% of radical ages 65 and older successful the U.S. person received 2 doses of a Covid vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite the vaccine sum wrong the highest hazard group, much than 300 radical are inactive dying each time connected mean from Covid, portion much than 3,300 are hospitalized daily, according to CDC data. Dr. Ashish Jha, who heads the White House Covid task force, said 70% of Covid deaths are among radical ages 75 and older.

"This is unacceptable, peculiarly due to the fact that we tin present forestall astir each Covid decease successful the state with vaccines and treatments that we have," Jha told reporters during a telephone Friday.

Although astir radical ages 75 and older received their superior vaccine series, those who are dying are either not up to day connected their boosters oregon are not receiving treatments specified arsenic Paxlovid erstwhile they person a breakthrough infection, Jha said. He added that decease rates are dramatically higher among radical successful this property radical who did not person their archetypal booster past fall.

"If you are up to day connected your vaccines and you get treated erstwhile you person a breakthrough infection, your chances of dying are adjacent to zero adjacent successful that high-risk population," Jha said.

Jha said the astir important measurement radical successful this property radical tin instrumentality to support themselves is to get the caller booster shots that people the ascendant omicron BA.5 subvariant on with the archetypal strain of Covid.

The archetypal Covid vaccines were developed against the archetypal strain that emerged successful China successful 2019, and their effectiveness astatine preventing corruption and mild unwellness has dropped substantially arsenic the microorganism has mutated. Though they inactive mostly support against the worst outcomes, their quality to forestall hospitalization has besides declined implicit time, peculiarly among aged radical who person not stayed up to day with their shots.

Health officials judge the caller boosters volition supply substantially amended extortion against illness due to the fact that the shots present lucifer the main Covid variant circulating successful the U.S.

But the FDA and CDC authorized the caller BA.5 boosters without information from quality trials, truthful it's unclear however overmuch much effectual they volition beryllium than the aged shots. FDA officials person said they authorized the boosters utilizing the aforesaid process they usage to alteration flu vaccines each year, which besides usually doesn't trust connected nonstop quality data.

The HHS survey did not look astatine the effect of booster shots connected terrible illness and decease due to the fact that those shots conscionable started rolling retired astatine the extremity of 2021.

The FDA authorized Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines successful December 2020. Seniors were the archetypal successful enactment to get the shots, and eligibility gradually expanded implicit the people of 2021.