CDC Study Reveals COVID-19 Hospitalizations are 23 Times Higher for Those who are Unvaccinated than Boosted
The booster shot is highly encouraged for an extra layer of protection.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Feb 02, 2022
According to a new study, unvaccinated adults were 23 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave than adults who were vaccinated and boosted. This study further highlights the importance of coronavirus vaccination and booster shots. The study from CDC found, by far, the highest rates of cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated people, followed by vaccinated but not boosted people, with vaccinated and boosted people having the most protection. The study used data from Los Angeles County as of January 8, 2022 during the Omicron wave.
Hospitalizations were 5.3 times higher among the unvaccinated than vaccinated but not boosted.
“Efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccination and boosters are critical to preventing COVID-19–associated hospitalizations and severe outcomes,” the study states.
While the largest effects were in reducing hospitalizations, the study also shows that vaccines and boosters lowered the chance of getting infected as a whole. The protection is 100 percent guaranteed, meaning there are still frequent breakthrough cases, but the severity is far lower among people who are vaccinated and boosted than among the unvaccinated. Case among unvaccinated people were 3.6 times higher than vaccinated and boosted people and two times higher than vaccinated and not boosted people.
According to an article, it was found that there was some “drop-off” in the vaccine performance against Omicron compared with the Delta variant, given omicron’s increased ability to “evade protection.” Gaps between the unvaccinated and vaccinated were even larger with the Delta variant, with a hospitalization rate 83 times higher for the unvaccinated compared to boosted people, and a case rate 12.3 times higher.
“Rate ratios indicated continued protection conferred by vaccine against severe disease, especially among those who had received a booster, although reduced for Omicron compared with Delta,” the study states.
Health officials are urging more people to get boosted. According to CDC data, currently, only about 44 percent of fully vaccinated adults are boosted.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.