COVID-19 vaccinations save lives. The relatively swift COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in many states have demonstrated the positive impact of having a large percentage of residents vaccinated.
On To the Point, researchers from the Yale School of Public Health, York University, and the Commonwealth Fund report findings from a new analysis showing that more than 4,700 deaths and 70,000 hospitalizations could have been averted in Florida and Texas if they had achieved the same vaccination coverage as the five states with the nation’s highest rates — Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island.
The rapid surge in hospital care needed for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients has overwhelmed health care facilities in Florida and Texas. As the Delta variant continues to spread, efforts to increase vaccination rates in these states, the authors say, are critical to reducing the risk of hospitalization and death.
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