Study quantifies vaccines’ impact
Likely saved lives of 2,600 N.Y. Medicare recipients in early 2021
Coronavirus vaccines likely prevented the deaths of 2,600 Medicare recipients in New York from January to May, a new study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects.
The study also projected that the vaccine reduced hospitalizations among New York Medicare recipients by 6,700 and cut infections in that population by 16,000 between January and May. Medicare recipients include seniors and the disabled.
“This report reaffirms what we hear routinely from states: COVID-19 vaccines save lives, prevent hospitalizations, and reduce infection,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-harris administration has prioritized getting vaccines quickly to pharmacies, nursing homes, doctors’ offices and even provided increased reimbursement rates for at-home COVID-19 vaccinations, so that seniors and others can easily get vaccinated.”
During the first nine months of the pandemic, more than 352,000 people died from the coronavirus, and 80 percent of those fatalities were estimated to be people 65 years and older who were Medicare-eligible. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 13,008 New Yorkers 65 years and older died from COVID-19 between January and May.
By May, 80 percent of seniors and 47 percent of adults age 18 to 64 were vaccinated, HHS said. New York had a slightly higher percentage of adults under 65 vaccinated, but a lower percentage of vaccinated seniors.
From January to May, the study found a nearly 12 percent decrease in weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths for every 10 percent increase in county vaccination rates among Medicare beneficiaries.
The study also found that vaccines were linked to a reduction of 5,600 deaths among nursing home Medicare beneficiaries, a group that was at high risk for hospitalization or death from the virus.
Seventy-six percent of all New York adults are now fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But holdouts among groups like health care workers have created a thorny issue for the state.
New Yorkers age 65 years and older and those who live in congregate facilities are now being urged to get a COVID-19 booster shot if they got the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. New Yorkers age 50 to 64 with medical conditions also should get a Pfizer booster, according to the state Department of Health. Younger adults with medical conditions and people at high risk for the virus due to their job also may get a booster if they wish.
Over 2.4 million New Yorkers have contracted the virus during the pandemic and more than 55,000 have died.
On Monday, about 2 percent of tests for the coronavirus in New York came back positive as the delta variant continues to circulate.