3 years after the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, the CDC is still sending the wrong messages

As hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 in the US rise this month as another wave of infections sweeps the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling people to get vaccinated. However, as its main message, instead of touting the vaccine’s effectiveness in significantly reducing the risk of serious illness and death, the CDC asserts the vaccine’s ability to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which is largely inaccurate. Such problematic messages may exacerbate the decline in public confidence in the CDC.

Throughout the territory Deaths from Covid-19 are increasing again. The weekly total is over 2,000 for the first time since the beginning of the year. Last week, the average weekly number of deaths rose by 25%, while hospitalizations rose by almost 18%.

After a toll of more than 1.2 million deaths from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, the last thing the US wants to see is a winter spike.

As countermeasures, people who have tested positive, have symptoms, or have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 should consider wearing KN95 or N95 masks, adequate ventilation in public indoor spaces, and avoiding close contact with others. In addition, it is recommended to be vaccinated or receive updated boosters, especially those in risk categories such as the elderly and immunocompromised.

But the CDC’s vaccination messages leave something to be desired. This week, the agency was posted: “The only thing we want you to spread this holiday season is love and cheer. Prevent the spread of #flu, #COVID and #RSV with the vaccine.”

While vaccination is certainly recommended as a way to reduce the chance of serious illness, it is not going to do much to limit the spread of Covid-19. It is wrong to suggest that vaccines are an effective tool to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.

Messaging matters, especially when it comes from a public health agency that has been under fire for several years for inconsistent and sometimes incorrect messaging.

There is much evidence to support the use of vaccines to reduce disease severity and death. This is indeed what the CDC should emphasize when addressing the public about the need for vaccination and boosters.

Since Covid-19 vaccines became widely available in the spring of 2021, there has been a significant gap in the death rate between the unvaccinated and the vaccinated.

ONE Commonwealth Fund Study It is estimated that by November 2022, Covid-19 vaccines have prevented more than 18.5 million US hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths.

By the end of 2022, data began to show that the majority of deaths from Covid-19 were among vaccinated. But that doesn’t mean vaccines and boosters are ineffective. The absolute The number of deaths may now be higher in vaccinated people, but that is because there are far more vaccinated than unvaccinated.

It’s the relative the rates of death from Covid-19 among the unvaccinated versus the vaccinated that are relevant. These rates undoubtedly demonstrate the effectiveness of vaccines. It is clear, for example, from chart below, which lists Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people stratified by vaccination status, that vaccination protects against death.

The difference in the death rate between the unvaccinated and the vaccinated narrowed in early 2023. The last published data point in the graph is April 2023. For the nation as a whole we do not have more recent data. However, for one state like Washington doing. There is still a difference in mortality rates and disease severity. From September 14 to October 11, 2023, unvaccinated people in Washington state were 1.3 to 2.5 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those who received at least one booster dose in addition to having complete the main series of two vaccinations. And from October 6 to November 2, 2023, unvaccinated people were two to 4.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than those who received at least one booster dose beyond the first two shots.

It’s this kind of evidence that should be emphasized in CDC messages about the importance of vaccines in trying to prevent serious illness and death from Covid-19.