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CHARLESTON -- COVID-19 vaccinations have been linked to a reduction of deaths, hospitalizations and infections among seniors in West Virginia, according to a study issued this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The report confirms what state officials have been saying for months, that vaccinations can prevent infections and save lives.
"Saying for more like for 570 days," said James Hoyer, director of the state interagency task force on vaccines.
The report, "Associations Between County-level Vaccination Rates and COVID-19 Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries," said vaccinations helped prevent 1,400 COVID cases, 600 hospitalizations and 200 deaths among West Virginia senior citizens from January to May,
The study conducted by researchers with the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found vaccinations across America helped reduce about 265,000 infections, 107,000 hospitalizations and 39,000 deaths among Medicare beneficiaries between January and May.
The aggressiveness of the West Virginia vaccination strategy is showing results as the report confirms the strategy to vaccinate older residents as soon as the vaccines became available was the right strategy to take, Hoyer said.
Despite a reluctance by some to take the vaccine, the state's aim is to "persevere with the plan" to encourage and vaccinate as many residents as possible, Hoyer said. Gov. Jim Justice and coronavirus adviser Dr. Clay Marsh have been saying vaccinations are the best way to stop the virus from spreading and mutating, Hoyer said.
"The only thing we can say … is to get vaccinated," Hoyer said. "It's that simple."
But it's been difficult because of the misinformation, he said.
"People are being bombarded by so much BS on the internet, social media," Hoyer said.
Nationally, more than 352,000 lives were lost during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said. Prior to the availability of vaccines, about 80 percent of deaths were people 65 and older who also were Medicare eligible.
An 11-12 percent decrease in weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Medicare beneficiaries occurred for every 10 percent increase in county vaccination rates from January to May when vaccination rates rose from 1 percent to 47 percent among those aged 18 to 64 and from 1 percent to 80 percent among seniors, the study found
Excluding Texas and Hawaii because of reporting limitations, racial and ethnic groups in 48 states had reduced COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and infections that were linked to vaccination rate increases. The largest decreases in infections, hospitalizations and deaths were among native American and Alaskan Medicare beneficiaries.
The vaccines also were connected to a reduction of 5,600 deaths among nursing home Medicare beneficiaries, the study said. It found high vaccination rates for all adults were even more protective for Medicare beneficiaries than just a high elderly vaccination rate on its own, showing vaccines protect communities by reducing infections, deaths and hospitalizations, the study said.
As of Wednesday, 91 percent of residents 65 and older in West Virginia have received at least one shot and 80.7 percent are fully vaccinated. For the eligible population for vaccines, age 12 and older, 57.1 percent are fully vaccinated.
Protection from the virus diminishes after around six months.
West Virginia immediately acted upon the directive by Health and Human Services authorizing providers to administer Pfizer vaccine booster shots to all those eligible, Hoyer said. The state is awaiting the federal approval for the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson boosters to begin administering those doses, he said.
"We hope to be able to start doing that by the end of October at the latest," he said.
The state also is waiting for its order for antibody treatments to help people who have been infected, but 70 percent of the antibody supplies "have been sucked up by seven southern states" that did not have an aggressive vaccine program, Hoyer said.
Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com
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The report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/tr853dpz.