Yesterday, the US Public Health Agency CDC published three studies on the effectiveness of covid vaccines.
One of the studies has gone through more than 600,000 cases of infection in the USA between April and July this year, ie during the period when the delta variant took over.
The study shows that unvaccinated people are 4.5 times more likely to be infected with covid-19 than vaccinated people.
They are also 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die.
"The vaccines work"
- These results are unique, we have probably never before been in a situation when we have an ongoing pandemic and a large vaccination program where we can follow the effect of the vaccinations in real time.
The results really show that vaccines work, says Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam, professor of vaccine immunology at Karolinska Institutet.
The protection drops slightly for the elderly
During the study period, however, the protection of covid vaccines against severe infection and hospitalization among the elderly decreased.
Among the 75-plus, the protection was 76 percent.
The corresponding figure for those between 18 and 74 years was 86 percent.
- Elderly people have a weaker immune system and it was they who were vaccinated first so it can explain that their protection has decreased over time, says Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam.
Third refill dose
She points out that Israel has seen similar results and believes that it is now time for Sweden to give older people a third refill dose.
- Yes, the USA is very similar in time to Sweden and when you see these signals then you should act.
SVT Nyheter has sought the Public Health Agency's experts, but none of them had the opportunity to appear in an interview today.