The study concludes that the launch of the COVID vaccine in the US saved 279,000 lives

(HealthDay): COVID-19 vaccines have prevented at least 279,000 deaths and 1.25 million hospitalizations in the United States, but the Delta variant poses a significant threat to this progress, the researchers say.

“Vaccines have been surprisingly successful in reducing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States alone,” said study author Alison Galvani, director of the Modeling Center and Infectious Disease Analysis from the Yale School of Public. Health.

“However, until a larger majority of Americans are vaccinated, many more people could still die from the virus,” he said in a Yale press release. “The danger is not over. Now is not the time to lower your guard.”

Galvani and his team analyzed data from October 1, 2020 to July 1, and found that more than 328 million COVID-19 dose of vaccine during this time, and that 67% of adults received at least one dose.

If only half of the shots had been administered, there would have been more than 120,000 additional deaths and 450,000 additional hospitalizations, according to investigators.

It was also found that the number of COVID-19 cases fell from more than 300,000 a day at the peak of the pandemic in January to less than 20,000 a day in mid-June.

However, the progress made with the national vaccination program could be quickly reversed by the highly transmissible Delta variant if it triggers an increase in new cases among the millions of people who have not been vaccinated, the researchers warned.

The study was published on July 7 by the Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit organization which focuses on health care issues.

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