A new report says that scientists have estimated that over one million people in Europe were saved from death due to the COVID-19 vaccination. This was calculated between December 2020 and March 2023 and the majority of these lives saved – 96% to be exact – belonged to adults aged 60 and above.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that since the beginning of the COVID-19 virus outbreak in 2020, over two million people in Europe have died from it. At a recent conference, Dr. Margaux Meslé from WHO gave information about the positive impact of vaccine programs across the continent. She also pointed out that countries with low vaccination coverage must make sure to get their older adults vaccinated as soon as possible.
In Europe, countries have put in place strategies to protect people who are more vulnerable by giving out vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. This includes different kinds of vaccine doses to prevent serious illness.
The scientists collected data from 26 countries and regions between December 2020 and March 2023 to count how many lives were saved because of the vaccine. They particularly looked at the age group (people aged 25 to 49, 50 to 59, and 60 or older) and the type of virus that was around when the vaccination took place (called a VOC period). The study measured how well the vaccination worked in each different VOC period.
New estimates show that vaccines have prevented a LOT of deaths – about 568,064 lives were saved! This amounts to more than half (57%) of the total lives that were saved worldwide during the Omicron wave.
Most of these potential deaths were among people aged sixty and above. Surprisingly, one booster alone was able to save almost two-thirds (64%) of those in this older age group. Amazingly, 96% of all life saved was from seniors!
This research did not consider the effect of vaccinations in different ways, the differences in healthcare services between countries and what else can be done aside from taking medicine.
Research shows that lots of lives have been saved in Europe due to the COVID-19 vaccines. But, many people from vulnerable groups in the European region haven’t taken their vaccines yet or got only partially vaccinated. Doctors from WHO/Europe are encouraging those who are qualified and yet to take the vaccine to do so. This was said during a meeting called ECCMID 2023.
This article was first shown at a big meeting called the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). It had been double-checked by experts there, but it hasn’t been given out as a paper yet or sent to any medical journals.
