Save Yourself From The Delta Variant: Risk Of Death Increases By 10 Times For Unvaccinated People
Though the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is underway in countries across the world, there are still some people out there who are wary of getting the shot. Waning immunity in some sections of the population is one reason behind this vaccine hesitancy. Experts have been trying to allay the fears from the minds of such people and have been repeatedly stressed on the importance of vaccination to control the pandemic. Now three new studies by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasises the importance of COVID-19 shots in preventing death rates. This is published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The risk is there for the elderly who got the shots too
According to experts, people who refuse to take the vaccine are 10 times more likely to die from the infection as compared to individuals who are vaccinated. According to one study, currently available shots do provide significant protection against the deadly viral disease for most people and vaccinated people are less likely to be hospitalised or die. But the researchers observed that hospitalisation and death rates were much higher among unvaccinated people. However, they also noted that the same risks are also present among the elderly irrespective of their vaccination status.
Vaccine efficacy drops to 80 per cent after emergence of Delta variant
For one of the studies, the CDC looked at the data of approximately 6,00,000 COVID-19 cases reported from April 4 to July 17 in 13 states and cities of the US. They analysed the hospitalisations and deaths among people who are 18years or age or older according to their vaccination status. They found that:
- Vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 dropped from 90 per cent, when delta had not yet gained traction, to less than 80 per cent from mid-June to mid-July, when delta became the dominant variant.
- There was hardly any decline hospitalisation and death during the entire period.
Moderna shot offers the best protection
Another study revealed that Moderna's vaccine provides better protection against the Delta variant than Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson. Experts say that Moderna showed 95 per cent efficacy at preventing hospitalisation among adults ages 18 and older. On the other hand, the Pfizer shot was 80 per cent effective and Johnson & Johnson only 60 per cent effective.
mRNA vaccines more effective, say experts
The third study looked into the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots. Researchers found that the mRNA vaccines were 87 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and provided significant protection from the Delta variant.