Unvaccinated People 11 Times as Likely to Die From Covid-19

As the Delta variant became dominant in the U.S. this summer, data showed that unvaccinated Americans were 4.6 times as likely to be infected, 10 times as likely to be hospitalized and 11 times as likely to die from Covid-19 than vaccinated people. In a trio of studies released Friday underscoring the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines even against the highly contagious Delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined Covid-19 outcomes among patients who visited emergency departments, urgent care centers and veterans’ hospitals. One study that tracked patients at five Veterans Affairs Medical Centers across the country between Feb. 1 and Aug. 6 found that mRNA vaccines were 87% effective at preventing Covid-19 associated hospitalization, including during the Delta surge. The study found that effectiveness dropped to 80% for patients over the age of 65, while for younger patients, the vaccines were 95% effective.