Adults 65 years and older who are fully vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are 94% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people of the same age who were not vaccinated, according to a new assessment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People 65 and older who are partially vaccinated are 64% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people who were not vaccinated, the report said. People were considered “partially vaccinated” two weeks after their first dose of the vaccine and “fully vaccinated” two weeks after their second dose.
The CDC experts say these are the first findings in the United States confirming clinical trial data showing the vaccines prevent severe COVID-19 illness. The findings provide additional support for CDC’s recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination among people 65 and older in the U.S. population.
“These findings are encouraging and welcome news for the two-thirds of people aged 65 and up who are already fully vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky. “COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and these real-world findings confirm the benefits seen in clinical trials, preventing hospitalizations among those most vulnerable.
The results are promising for our communities and hospitals. As our vaccination efforts continue to expand, COVID-19 patients will not overwhelm health care systems — leaving hospital staff, beds, and services available for people who need them for other medical conditions.”
The assessment looked at hospitalizations in two U.S. hospital networks covering 24 hospitals in 14 states. Vaccine effectiveness was assessed by comparing the odds of COVID-19 vaccination among hospitalized people who tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 (these were case-patients) versus those who tested negative (these were controls).
Among 417 participants in the assessment, there were 187 case-patients and 230 controls. Close to half of the patients were more than 75 years old.
Also noteworthy, while early reports from Israel also documented the real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination, including among older adults, those reports only looked at vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine. In this CDC assessment, both Pfizer and Moderna vaccine products were equally represented.
The assessment confirmed that vaccination provided no protection until two weeks after the inoculation. It takes two weeks for the body to form an immune response after vaccination.
This assessment is one of many planned COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness assessments to evaluate the real-world benefits of COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC says. Results from these assessments will help inform vaccine policy decisions aimed at saving lives and decreasing serious COVID-19 disease as much as possible.
CDC recommends everyone 16 years of age and older in the U.S. population get the applicable COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
