Study shows Covid-19 vaccines could have prevented 7,000 hospital admissions

According to new research only 44% of the UK population had had their recommended number of jabs in the summer of 2022.

The study, of which findings have been published in The Lancet, was the first to involve the entire UK population which is made up of 67 million people. Experts examined people aged five and over to discover how many were up to date with their Covid-19 vaccinations.

Published yesterday, 15^th January 2024, researchers discovered that as of 1^st June 2022, 45.7% of people in England were under-vaccinated, in addition to 49.8% of people in Northern Ireland, 34.2% in Scotland and 32.8% in Wales.

From this, experts used mathematical modelling to discover that 7,180 hospitalisations and deaths out of 40,393 Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths from 1^st June to 30^th September 2022 were avoidable had people been fully vaccinated.

‘Covid-19 vaccines save lives,’ Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, co-lead of the study said. ‘As new variants emerge, this study will help to pinpoint groups of our society and areas of the country where public health campaigns should be focused and tailored for those communities.’

The rollout of the vaccines began strongly in January 2022, with 90% of the population over the age of 12 vaccinated with at least one dose, but rates sharply dropped by June.

As a result of the new findings, which have been recognised as a landmark advance for science, older people are being urged to become fully vaccinated. The people currently eligible for the seasonal jab before the end of this month include individuals aged 65 and over. In addition, people with underlying health conditions, those living in a care home, frontline health and social care workers and people aged between 12 to 64 who live with someone with a weakened immune system are also eligible.

Commenting on the study, which was led by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the University of Edinburgh, Professor Cathie Sudlow, chief scientist at HDR UK and director of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘We believe that we could and should extend these approaches to many other areas of medicine, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes to search for better understanding, prevention and treatment of disease.’

Whilst the study did include virtually everyone in the UK, the research also united NHS data that was stored and gathered differently depending on the country.

Image: Roger Starnes Sr

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