Vaccines against the Coronavirus are still effective even in situations where some of those who are immunized become infected with the virus, being protected to a very large extent even against hospitalization, according to data recorded in Great Britain.
"How can you have significant percentages of cases in vaccinated people and still say that vaccines are very effective?
Vaccines authorized under the EMA (European Medicines Agency) are effective in preventing symptomatic disease, hospitalizations and deaths.
In the EU, until 19.07.2021, vaccination coverage for dose 1 is 57% and for dose 2 44%.
UK study:
The first image shows confirmed cases of Delta and hospitalizations caused by this variant, broken down by vaccination status, reported by the UK Public Health Service. The data are collected between 01.02.2021 and 21.06.2021.
The second image shows vaccination coverage by age group in the UK – 9 July 2021.
So:
As the number of vaccinated people increases, there is also an increase in the proportion of cases recorded among vaccinated people;
Vaccination is very effective, but does not protect 100%.
By vaccination:
- the risk of infection is reduced;
- the risk of virus transmission is reduced;
– the risk of hospitalization is considerably reduced;
- the risk of death is considerably reduced.
If we analyze the cases of hospitalization reported following infection with the Delta strain, depending on the vaccination status:
Only 15% of cases were recorded in people vaccinated with the full schedule;
Among young people (under 50 years old), only 4% of hospitalizations are recorded in people vaccinated with the full schedule;
Among people over 50 years old (with a higher risk of severe evolution) 46% of cases are registered in people vaccinated with the full schedule.
But between 80% and 90% of people aged over 50 in the UK are already vaccinated with the full schedule. Within this age group, the number of people vaccinated with the full schedule is 4 to 9 times higher than the number of unvaccinated people (the degree of vaccination coverage increases significantly towards older ages).
Example to better understand the context!
Considering 80% vaccination coverage within the 50-55 age group and having the following hypothetical situation:
out of 100 people, 80 are vaccinated and 20 are unvaccinated; 8 of the vaccinated are hospitalized, and 8 of the unvaccinated are hospitalized.
Comparing the number of hospitalized vaccinated infected cases with the total number of hospitalized patients, it appears that 50% of hospitalized patients are vaccinated.
Putting the numbers of hospitalized infected people in an epidemiological context, referring to the exposed population, it appears that:
out of 80 people vaccinated with the full schedule, 8 were hospitalized, which represents 10%;
out of 20 unvaccinated people, 8 were hospitalized, which represents 40%.
And in this extreme hypothetical situation, vaccination would reduce the chances of hospitalization by 4 times in more vulnerable people who still get infected.
Vaccination efficacy against hospitalization remains over 90% even with the Delta strain after full-dose vaccination. In addition, compliance with non-pharmaceutical hygiene measures remains very important."
