COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Jump Among Vaccinated: CDC Data

 

Vials of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in Bridgeport, Conn., in a file image. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

Fully vaccinated refers to people who received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The case rate among those who also received a booster dose skyrocketed as well, rising some 2,400 percent between the same dates. While cases also rose among the unvaccinated, the jump in infections among the vaccinated closed the gap between the populations. As a result, people who haven’t received a vaccine were just 3.2 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 in January.

COVID-19-associated hospitalizations also increased among the vaccinated, from 1.4 per 100,000 for the fully vaccinated for the week ending Dec. People who got a booster were less likely to require hospital care, but the hospitalization rate among the boosted also rose from December 2021 to January. And deaths attributed to COVID-19 increased during the same time period among the vaccinated, including among the boosted. Other data sources also point to vaccines performing worse after Omicron, including studies published by the CDC in January, which has narrowed the gap between the unvaccinated and vaccina

ted in terms of cases and hospitalizations.

Some research, though, signals that boosters restore much of the lost protection, including a study performed by researchers with Kaiser Permanente and Moderna published in Nature Medicine on Feb. «Our results suggest that third doses may be needed sooner than 6 months after the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to protect against omicron infection,» Hung Fu Tseng, a Kaiser researcher, said in a statement. «Reassuringly, 3 doses provide strong protection against COVID-19 hospitalization due to either the omicron or delta variant». Just days after the study, though, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told investors on a call that a second booster would be necessary because of waning protection from the vaccine, including the first booster.

«This year, we expect to see continued primary vaccination and boosting in the Southern Hemisphere in the first half, and a shift to boosters as a fourth dose booster in the Northern Hemisphere in the second half of the year, similar to flu vaccines,» Bancel said.

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Source: NP | Zachary Stieber