COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization in people aged 65 or older, a new report finds.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at senior citizens who received one of the three approved vaccines in the U.S. but still contracted the virus.
They found that the vaccines were up to 96 percent effective in preventing this age group from ending up in the hospital.
The data provide further evidence to health officials' claims that the vaccines are preventing severe disease and death, especially among the most vulnerable Americans.
A new CDC report looked at 7,280 COVID-19 patients aged 65 or older between February 1 and April 30. Pictured: Registered nurse Darryl Hana rolls up Concepcion Witron's sleeve after administering a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in California, July 2021
Of the patients, 75% unvaccinated, 12% partially vaccinated and 5% were fully vaccinated with one of three approved vaccines
For the report, published on Friday, the team looked at 7,280 COVID-19 patients aged 65 or older between February 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.
Of the patients, 75 percent - or 5,451 - were unvaccinated, 12 percent, or 867, were partially vaccinated and 394, or five percent, were fully vaccinated.
Patients were vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine or the J&J vaccine.
People are considered fully vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines 14 days after the second dose and fully
