COVID-19 vaccines have prevented 140K deaths

COVID-19 vaccines have been effective in preventing roughly 140,000 deaths in the U.S., according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.

Around the world, more than four million have died from the virus as of July 18, including more than 600,000 in the U.S. In the months since, the approval of the COVID-19 vaccines—by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson—have slowed the transmission of the virus, saved lives and enabled a slow return to normal. 

Researchers from Purdue University, Indiana University and RAND Corporation in Santa Monica examined the intensity of state vaccination campaigns and their association with changes in the number of COVID-19 deaths. Using regression models, they estimated COVID-19 deaths averted by vaccine distribution.

While there was “substantial variation” in the intensity of vaccine campaigns state by state, there were impacts on vaccine distribution and fewer deaths.

“Our estimates suggest that first few months of the vaccination campaign in the US were associated with nearly 140,000 averted COVID-19 deaths,” wrote first author Sumedha Gupta, associate professor in the Department of Economics, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, et al.

Researchers realized that 550,000 people had died of the virus in the U.S. by May 2021, but the figure could’ve been higher than 709,000 without the cumulative vaccine campaigns. In fact, COVID-19 deaths could have been 1.2 times higher than they actually were without vaccine campaigns. The value per statistical life of COVID-19 deaths was previously estimated to range from $4.5 million to $10.6 million. Using these figures, the researchers suggested “the value per statistical life of the lives already saved because of the vaccination campaign is in the range of $625 billion to $1.4 trillion.” Other studies put the total cost of the pandemic, including the mortality, health and economic impacts, at $16 trillion.

Fortunately, the vaccines have been associated with declining mortality and severe complications from the virus. 

“Our study provides support for policies that expand vaccine administration, which will enable larger populations to benefit,” wrote Gupta et al.

 

Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

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