February 24, 2022 – New data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows that while COVID-19 vaccines still provided protection during the omicron wave, the level of protection was weaker than previous surges.
This resulted in higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death for adults who were fully vaccinated and boosted. Any decline in protection perpetuated the pattern that the vaccines’ effectiveness waned over time, combined with a more contagious variant.
While the protection might have been weaker than before, vaccines still provided the greatest protection against death. By the end of December, unvaccinated people were 10 times as likely to as those who had only received the initial phases of any of the major vaccines.