The COVID Vaccine Works

Despite all the attempts to gaslight us about the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine, the results are clear. Why people still won't take advantage of this vaccine is a mystery to me. It doesn't work unless you get a shot!

---------------------------------------- 

By Laine Bergeson at CIDRAP, 6-23-26

Study suggests 2025-26 COVID vaccine cuts emergency, urgent care visits by half
Laine Bergeson

"A new study suggests that the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against serious illness by reducing the risk of hospitalization and emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits, adding protection for a population with significant existing immunity from previous infections and vaccinations. 

"The study, published today in JAMA Network Open, found that adults who received the updated vaccine were about 50% less likely to require ED/UC treatment for COVID and 55% less likely to be hospitalized than those who did not receive the vaccine.

Booster augments previous immunity

"For the study, researchers led by a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from more than 111,000 adults across 253 EU/UCs and 179 hospitals in seven states from September through December 2025. They compared patients who tested positive for COVID with those who tested negative and identified whether they had received the 2025-26 vaccine.

"Overall, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-related ED/UC visits was estimated at 50%. Protection against hospitalization was 55%.

"Among adults ages 65 and older, VE was 48% against ED/UC visits and 53% against hospitalization. Older adults face the highest risk of severe outcomes from COVID.

"While hospitalization rates during the first part of the 2025-26 respiratory virus season were lower than in previous years, COVID-related severe illness remains a significant issue. There were an estimated 390,000 to 550,000 COVID-related hospitalizations in the United States from October 2024 to September 2025, with the highest hospitalization rate reported among adults 65 and older. 

"The protective benefits of the 2025-26 booster bolstered previous immunity. “The findings in this study demonstrate the added benefit of 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccination irrespective of protection conferred by previous COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the authors write.

59% lower risk of medically attended illness

"The findings align with a separate study conducted in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain by the Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies (VEBIS) Primary Care Vaccine Effectiveness Group. 

"For the study, published last week in JAMA Network Open, researchers examined the effectiveness of 2025-26 COVID vaccines in older adults who sought care for respiratory illnesses from September 2025 to January 2026. 

"The findings suggest that vaccination reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID infection that required a healthcare visit by 59%, although with uncertainty (95% confidence interval [CI], 14% to 83%), among older adults during the first two months after vaccination. 

"Protection waned slightly over time—VE was 64% (95% CI, 8% to 89%) 14 to 41 days after vaccination and 52% (95% CI, −39% to 89%) 42 to 83 days after vaccination, again with uncertainty. 

Vaccine uptake low in both studies

"In both studies, vaccine uptake was low. In the study led by the CDC, only 11% of patients included in the analysis received a 2025-26 booster, and only 6% of patients who tested positive for COVID in the European study had been vaccinated, compared with 19% of those who tested negative. 

“The low uptake of vaccines, which showed substantial short-term effectiveness, suggests missed opportunities for preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among unvaccinated vulnerable groups,” write the authors of the European study."