CNN
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The latest COVID-19 vaccinations could help halve the chance of developing early symptomatic infection. data Suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccine manufacturers have updated their formulations to target the Omicron variant XBB.1.5, the strain that was primarily circulating for most of 2023. But new CDC data shows the latest vaccines are just as effective against JN.1, which causes most cases of coronavirus. Since late December, there have been 19 cases of the virus in the United States.
For this analysis, researchers looked at trends among more than 9,000 adults who were tested for COVID-19 at Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy stores between mid-September and mid-January. In some patients who tested positive, researchers were able to test for certain “quirks” of the virus, which allowed them to distinguish between specific strains.
Overall, updated coronavirus vaccines are reducing symptoms among recently vaccinated immunocompetent adults compared to adults who did not receive the updated vaccines, according to a report released Thursday by the CDC. It was said to provide 54% protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Ruth Linkgeles, director of CDC's Vaccine Efficacy Program for Novel Coronavirus and RSV and lead author of the new study, said, “Everything we learn from this study shows that the vaccine will not be as effective as we hope it will be.'' “This provides reassurance that it is providing the protection that was previously expected.” “Although there are no estimates of vaccine efficacy specific to immunocompromised populations, I think the fact that the vaccine is effective in the general population should provide reassurance to the entire population.”
Generally, the goal of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination program is to prevent severe disease, but measuring vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection will help us understand earlier how effective a vaccine is. You can check. Linkgels said this is often the first estimate available because more people are getting infected than being hospitalized, so there is a large enough population to study sooner.
“What's so great about this analysis is that it ticks that box: Yes, the vaccine is working, it's providing protection, and yes, the most common variant right now is JN.1. “It provides protection against,” she said.
This comes as the latest Covid-19 vaccines have only become available since September, following recommendations from the CDC's Independent Vaccine Advisory Committee and formal approval from the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The analysis was only able to track trends over a period of about four months. After vaccination.
Based on trends in COVID-19 vaccines, protection from modern vaccines is expected to wane over time. Linkgels said a small “hint” of that was observed in the new study. However, the CDC will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the latest vaccines, and additional analyzes at a later date will determine how effective the vaccines are at preventing severe disease and how quickly protection wears off. It will help you decide.
Although the United States does not have a system in place to track people infected with COVID-19, wastewater data shows that COVID-19 continues to circulate at high levels in the United States, with tens of thousands of new cases still emerging. There have been hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths from coronavirus infections. Every week. In the week ending Jan. 13, there were about 31,000 hospitalizations and more than 1,800 deaths due to COVID-19, according to CDC data.
Still, the CDC estimates that only about 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 9 children have received the latest coronavirus vaccine, which is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. ing.
By comparison, nearly half of adults and children have received a flu vaccine this season. And a flu season where the vaccine matches the circulating strain with 50% effectiveness would be considered a very good match, Linkgeles said.
“There's never a bad time to get the COVID-19 vaccine,” she says. “Even if the level of hospitalizations is relatively low at the moment, any additional protection will go a long way.”
