https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracke ... accination
Unvaccinated Americans ages 50 and older are significantly more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than those who are fully vaccinated and receive a booster shot, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.
That booster shots keep people from becoming infected, at least for a while, has not been in dispute. But the new finding largely supports conclusions from Israel and other countries showing that boosters also are effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization, especially in older adults.
And the C.D.C.’s figures represent the first real-world data showing the effects of extra shots of a Covid vaccine in the United States.
The numbers published on the agency’s website on Thursday night suggest that in December, unvaccinated people ages 50 and older were 17 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who had completed the initial immunization series — without boosters.
But unvaccinated Americans between 50 and 64 were 44 times more likely to end up in the hospital with Covid than those in the age group who were vaccinated and received a booster shot.
The difference was even more stark for those older than 65: Unvaccinated people were at 49 times greater risk of hospitalization, compared with those who received a booster.