COVID vaccines saved hundreds of seniors from death in Kansas and Missouri, HHS report says
A new government report has found that 6,700 Missouri senior citizens were shielded from being infected with the coronavirus because they were vaccinated against COVID-19, 2,700 were saved from being hospitalized and 900 avoided death.
The Department of Health and Human Services report, scheduled to be released on Tuesday, found that a similar number were protected in Kansas, where vaccines reduced 4,300 COVID-19 infections, 1,700 hospitalizations, and 700 deaths in the elderly.
The study found an overall nationwide reduction of 265,000 COVID-19 infections, 107,000 hospitalizations, and 39,000 deaths among Medicare beneficiaries between January and May 2021.
Researchers at HHS came up with the projections by using a combination of Medicare claims and county-level vaccination data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using mathematical models to compare what would have happened without vaccines, the researchers projected that infections, hospitalizations and death were lowered across the country.
The report also found reduced numbers of COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and infections across all racial and ethnic groups.
In a statement on the study, HHS said that seniors — who have been at highest risk of death from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic — have been shown to benefit from an overall high vaccination rate throughout the population, and not just within their age group.
“The study found that high vaccination rates for all adults were even more protective for Medicare beneficiaries than just a high elderly vaccination rate on its own,” HHS said in a statement on the study. “The COVID-19 vaccines protect communities by reducing infections, deaths, and hospitalizations.”
Updates with how researchers came up with projections.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 6:22 PM.
