Regenstrief study outlines benefits of COVID vaccine
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A study conducted by researchers at the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis shows people who received the COVID-19 vaccine “benefited significantly more from vaccination than natural immunity acquired from a previous COVID infection.” The study shows hospital admission rates and death were 37% lower for vaccinated individuals.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center also helped conduct the study, which was published this month in the American Journal of Public Health.
In addition to the hospital admission and death rates, the rate of emergency department visits for all causes was 24% lower for those who were vaccinated compared to the previously infected.
The study analyzed data on pairs of vaccine recipients and individuals with prior infections ranging in age from 12 to 110 years old. They were matched on age, sex, CDC-defined COVID risk scores, and dates of initial exposure to the vaccines or the virus itself.
The researchers gathered the data from the Indiana Network for Patient Care, as well as death reports from the state of Indiana.
Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president for data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute and corresponding author of the study, says the results should encourage people everywhere to not rely on natural immunity and get vaccinated.
Grannis said while the incidence of COVID infection was higher in vaccine recipients (6.7%) than in those previously infected (2.9%), the vaccine protected against severe disease, while natural immunity did not.
“As vaccinated individuals were more likely to actually get COVID than those with natural immunity, the lower death rate of vaccine recipients who develop COVID appears to be due to vaccination and not to a tendency for risk-averse behaviors, such as mask-wearing, hand sanitizing and social distancing,” Grannis said.
Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Dr. Wanzhu Tu, the first author of the study, said the study confirms that mRNA vaccines have kept people out of the emergency department and the hospital while also lowering the likelihood of death from any cause in every age group.
“The significantly lower rates of all-cause ED visits, hospitalization and mortality in the vaccinated highlight the real-world benefits of vaccination,” the study said. “The data raises questions about the wisdom of reliance on natural immunity when safe and effective vaccines are available.”
You can connect to the full study by clicking here.