Study: COVID Vaccines Have Prevented 2.2M US Deaths

ABC News reports:

The U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program is now estimated to have prevented 2.2 million deaths, 17 million hospitalizations and 66.1 million additional infections through March 2022, according to updated modeling from the Commonwealth Fund, an organization advocating for improved healthcare for marginalized communities.

In the analysis of recent trends, researchers estimated that the daily peak of deaths pre-omicron, and without vaccination, would have exceeded 24,000 per day, far surpassing the actual peak of 4,300 per day, experienced by the country during the winter of 2021.

UPI reports:

The White House pointed to the study to criticize Republicans for holding up “critical funding we need to make more progress — to save even more lives.”

A White House statement Friday said, “Inaction will leave our nation less prepared for any future surges and variants.” The White House statement said Congress must act with urgency to continue funding government anti-COVID-19 efforts.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Bloomberg TV’s David Westin he expects an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the next couple of weeks. Fauci said a surge in the fall is likely.

NEW: The U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program is now estimated to have prevented 2.2 million deaths, 17 million hospitalizations and 66.1 million additional infections through March 2022, according to a new study out Friday. https://t.co/ewozBSxTxu

— Arielle Mitropoulos (@AMitrops) April 8, 2022