Do COVID-19 Vaccines Still Make a Difference?

Background: While the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) vaccine conferred remarkable protection when first developed, the virus has undergone substantial mutations and immunity has attenuated severity of infection. This has led to significant decreased vaccination rates in the United States. Objective: To determine if COVID-19 vaccines still confer meaningful benefit. Design: Observational study. Participants: Adult Veteran Affairs (VA) patients who received influenza vaccination between September 3, 2024, and December 31, 2024, had a primary care provider encounter within 18 months and had received the 2023 to 2024 COVID-19 vaccine. Patients were excluded if they received COVID-19 vaccines within 90 days before enrollment or tested positive for COVID-19. Methods: Of >295,000 enrolled patients, 164,132 received the COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 131,839 were in the no–COVID-vaccine group. Of COVID vaccines, 64.0% received mRNA-1273 (Moderna ® ), 35.3% BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech), and 0.7% other. For more...