A compilation of data from nearly 200,000 hospitalizations in 13 US states also concludes that the hospitalization rate was two and a half times higher among those vaccinated without a booster dose (3rd dose), compared to those who had received a dose. reminder at this time. The end of the period covered by the study corresponds to when the Omicron variant had become dominant.
This comparison of people at risk adds to a long series of similar studies published in the last year in various countries. But the United States offers an “opportunity” for researchers, with a relatively low vaccination rate compared to most wealthy countries (only 76% of people aged 18 and over had received their first two vaccinations as of April 30). doses), and even very low in some regions.
The research was published on September 8 in the magazine JAMA Internal Medicine.
It also notes that the median age of the unvaccinated patients (58 years) was lower than that of the vaccinated patients (70 years) and that the proportion of those suffering from comorbidities was lower in the unvaccinated—two factors which, in theory, should have given them two additional statistical advantages. Gold, even in older people (65 years and older) who were hospitalized, vaccinated people end up in hospital at a lower rate than would be expected if all older people were at the same level of risk.
Ten and a half times more at risk, this is an “important threshold”, conclude the authors, in a context where “several eligible Americans [à la vaccination] remain unvaccinated.
At the same time, a difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated also seems to be beginning to emerge on the side of long-lasting COVID — those people who, months following being infected with the virus, continue to suffer from different symptoms ranging from extreme fatigue to problems. neurological. For example, in a study published on September 12, out of 3090 cases of long COVID followed in Great Britain in 2020 and 2021, “persistent symptoms were reported by 9.5% of the vaccinated and 14.6% of the unvaccinated”.
This last study suffers from more limitations than the other: list of symptoms to define the long COVID no consensus yet, including the time “following contamination” from which we can decide. But it too is added to a long list of data which raises fears that those who choose to avoid vaccines are exposing themselves to a higher level of risk, beyond simply being infected with a virus.