CDC studies: Vaccines still dramatically reduce risk of hospitalization, death amid delta
The unvaccinated "are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at Friday's White House COVID briefing.
![PHOTO: Medical staff in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Three Rivers Asante Medical Center treat a patient on Sept. 9, 2021, in Grants Pass, Ore.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/oregon-covid-hospital-gty-jt-210910_1631292248752_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
Three new studies from the CDC show vaccines still dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization and death amid the delta surge.
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A study of U.S. veterans fully vaccinated with Pfizer and Moderna found no real change in vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization pre-delta to post-delta. A second study of all three vaccines across nine states found vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 86% for all age groups. A third study of all three vaccines across 13 jurisdictions found vaccines performed roughly equally well protecting against hospitalization and death during the delta surge compared to pre-delta.
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Across the studies, vaccines remained 86-87% effective against preventing hospitalizations.
But effectiveness dropped more for people ages 65 and older in recent months compared to before delta, likely due a combination of vaccine effectiveness fading over time and the slight impact of the delta variant on vaccine efficacy.
Vaccines are losing some of their effectiveness when it comes to preventing mild infections among the vaccinated.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman