COVID-19
by
Katharina Buchholz,
Nov 10, 2021
As winter is approaching, COVID-19 infections are bound to increase among vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, a closer look at
shows that there is a significant difference between both groups across all age cohorts in the likeliness to become infected with the coronavirus. Between August and September 2021, the infection rates per 100,000 individuals were six to ten times higher among unvaccinated people compared with vaccinated people of the same age group.
The infection rates have a direct impact on hospitalizations,
by vaccination status. Depending on the age group, hospitalization rates were ten to 15 times higher for unvaccinated individuals. In the case of unvaccinated 18-49 years old, this meant that hospitalizations for the coronavirus were still only at 27 in 100,000 people as of early September, just exceeding the rate for vaccinated people 65 years and older at 15 per 100,000. However, the rates of hospitalizations for unvaccinated individuals in the age groups 50-64 and 65+ were much higher, at 94 per 100,000 and 239 per 100,000 people, respectively.
Since it's mainly older people who end up at the hospital for COVID, their absolute numbers can sometimes give off the impression that vaccines are not working as well as they are. Vaccination coverage in the U.S. increases with age,
Even if a COVID ward was filled halfway with vaccinated patients, the fact unvaccinated individuals are in the minority in the relevant age groups still means that their relative risk to become hospitalized with COVID-19 far exceed that of vaccinated people.
There's a nice graph too. I know how you folks prefer pictures to werdz.