The Study Comes as Republicans Prolong the Pandemic by Blocking Necessary Funding and Spreading Misinformation
Projected U.S. Seven-Day Rolling Average of Daily Deaths per 100,000 Population, With and Without Vaccination, via the Commonwealth Fund
An independent study released today shows how President Biden’s unprecedented vaccine drive saved nearly over 2.2 million lives, prevented 17 million hospitalizations and 66 million cases, and avoided $900 billion in health care costs. Thanks to the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress, we have more tools than ever before to combat the virus – and everyone has benefitted.
Republicans, however, voted against funding for vaccine distribution, and continue to play politics with people’s lives and livelihoods. They continue to spread misinformation and lies about vaccines, promoting vaccine hesitancy among their own constituents. And just this week, they blocked funding essential for continuing our fight against COVID-19, exposing ourselves to future variants and surges with fewer vaccines, treatments and tests for the American people.
We can’t leave ourselves and our economy vulnerable to COVID-19 after the hard work and sacrifices of the past two years. Republicans must join with Democrats to approve additional funding to continue on the progress we’ve already made and prepare for the future.
KEY POINTS:
- “Through March 2022, we estimate that COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the U.S. prevented over 2 million deaths and 17 million hospitalizations (Table 1). There would have been an estimated 66 million additional infections and nearly $900 billion in associated health care costs in the absence of vaccination.”
- “…the daily peak of deaths pre-Omicron without vaccination would have exceeded 24,000 per day (7.3 per 100,000 population), far eclipsing the actual peak of 4,300 per day (1.3 per 100,000 population) reached during winter 2021.”
- “During the Delta wave, hospitalizations would have peaked at more than 48 per 100,000 population; during the Omicron wave, they would have peaked at 85 per 100,000 population, exceeding the hospitalization rate attributable to influenza during an entire severe flu season.”
- “As we noted in our December analysis, vaccines spared the U.S. health care system an overwhelming number of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The current analysis confirms and extends the earlier results. Investing in vaccination programs also has produced substantial cost savings — approximately the size of one-fifth of annual national health expenditures — by dramatically reducing the amount spent on COVID-19 hospitalizations.”
- “As Congress considers the costs and benefits of extending COVID-19 vaccination, our results show that continuing to vaccinate and boost Americans can produce substantial health benefits and financial returns to the country. Unvaccinated Americans have rates of preventable COVID-19 hospitalization and death that are significantly higher than those for vaccinated Americans.”
Read the whole study from the Commonwealth Fund here.