COVID Vaccines Have Prevented 3,255,656 Deaths

COVID vaccines and vaccination campaigns have had unparalleled benefits throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many argue that vaccines have been the most effective public health tool against infection. According to a recent article by the Commonwealth Fund, COVID vaccines have prevented 3,255,656 deaths in the United States between December 2020 and November 2022.

The Commonwealth Fund article notes that over 655 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. Approximately 80% of the population in the US has received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

The article notes that, alongside the over three million deaths that were prevented, vaccinations also prevented 18,585,131 hospitalizations and 119,851,779 infections.

As the pandemic has progressed and the virus has mutated, the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to develop boosters that provide broader coverage has been highly beneficial. According to the article, “The Omicron variants caused the largest wave of infections during the pandemic. COVID-19 monovalent vaccines available at the time were not as efficacious against the variant as bivalent boosters introduced later, but the wave would have been more devastating in the absence of vaccination.”

Additionally, the article notes that preventing deaths, hospitalizations, and infection has saved over $1.1 trillion in medical costs and other spending.

This article follows a publication earlier this year in JAMA Network Open evaluating the impact of New York City’s Vaccine for All campaign. That article found that vaccination efforts saved $27.96 billion in New York City alone. In addition, this study quantified the potential years of life lost, finding that the NYC vaccination campaign reduced the possible years of life lost from 408,707 to 92,280.

According to the Commonwealth Fund, “The unprecedented pace at which vaccines were developed and deployed has saved many lives and allowed for the safer easing of COVID-19 restrictions and reopening of businesses, schools, and other activities. This extraordinary achievement has been possible only through sustained funding and effective policymaking that ensured vaccines were available to all Americans. Moving forward, accelerating uptake of the new booster will be fundamental to averting future hospitalizations and deaths.”