If a superhero saved over 2 million people in four years, we might call them the best in the world. That title could instead go to COVID-19 vaccines. From 2020 to 2024, these vaccines saved 2.5 million lives.
They prevented one death for every 5,400 doses given. Researchers also calculated 14.8 million years of life gained from vaccination. The study was published in JAMA Health Forum by Università Cattolica and Stanford University researchers.
What Key Findings Showed Lives Saved from Covid Vaccines?
The study found most lives were saved when people were vaccinated before infection. The greatest number of lives were saved during the Omicron wave among those aged 60 and older. Researchers calculated 14.8 million years of life gained from vaccines. This equals one year of life saved for every 900 doses given.
About 82% of saved lives occurred before people encountered the virus. Around half of all prevented deaths happened during the Omicron phase. Older adults benefited most, making up 76% of years of life saved. People in long-term care facilities accounted for only 2% of the total benefit.
Children and teens contributed just 0.01% of lives saved and 0.1% of life-years saved. Young adults aged 20 to 29 accounted for 0.07% of lives saved. These results show that the largest benefits were concentrated among older, more vulnerable populations.
What Methods Demonstrated Lives Saved from Covid Vaccines?
Researchers estimated lives and life-years saved worldwide from December 2020 to October 2024. They calculated how many deaths might have occurred without vaccination. The study also estimated plausible mortality reductions from different vaccines. Data were grouped by age, pre-Omicron and Omicron periods, vaccination timing, and long-term care status.
The analysis compared vaccination outcomes with a no-vaccine scenario. This scenario used best estimates for infection fatality rate (IFR), vaccine effectiveness (VE) for preventing death, and the share of people infected before and after vaccination. Lives saved in each group were calculated by multiplying four factors: group population size, the share likely infected without vaccination, the IFR, and VE. Adding results for all groups produced the global total of lives saved.
Life-years saved were calculated by multiplying lives saved by life expectancy for each group, adjusted for poorer health among those who died. The analysis first measured benefits for people vaccinated before infection. For those vaccinated after infection, benefits were reduced by a factor (R) to reflect lower IFR during reinfection and fewer infections prevented overall.
Conclusion
A recent study found COVID-19 vaccines prevented over 2.5 million deaths in four years. They also preserved 14.8 million years of life, with most benefits in older adults. Researchers say these results highlight the importance of vaccination in protecting vulnerable populations.
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Logan Hamilton is a health and wellness freelance writer for hire. He’s passionate about crafting crystal-clear, captivating, and credible content that elevates brands and establishes trust. When not writing, Logan can be found hiking, sticking his nose in bizarre books, or playing drums in a local rock band. Find him at loganjameshamilton.com.
