Researchers estimate COVID-19 vaccines have saved over 280K lives

COVID-19 vaccines likely saved more than a quarter of a million lives and prevented more than a million hospitalizations according to new estimates from Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund.

CNN reports researchers estimated there would have been about 279,000 additional coronavirus-related deaths by the end of June had vaccines not been administered. Around 1.25 million people would also likely have been hospitalized were it not for the vaccines.

If the vaccination rate had been half as fast as it has been, then an additional 121,000 may have died and 450,000 people would have hospitalized, according to the researchers.

These additional deaths would have due to an increased spread of the alpha variant first detected in the UK that quickly became the dominant strain in the U.S. in the spring. Health experts are urging unvaccinated people to get their COVID-19 shots as the delta variant of the virus, believed to be more infectious, continues to spread.

“This is further evidence that our whole-of-government strategy is working and has prevented significant further tragedy and disruption to Americans’ lives and livelihoods,” White House COVID-19 response director Jeff Zients said on Thursday, calling the research “a powerful reminder about what’s at stake in our vaccination efforts.”

This information comes just as the U.S. recently missed President Biden’s goal of having at least 70 percent of adults have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. According to the CDC, about 67 percent of adults have received at least one dose and 58.5 percent are fully vaccinated.