"From December 2020 through November 2022, we estimate that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the U.S. prevented more than 18.5 million additional hospitalizations and 3.2 million additional deaths. Without vaccination, there would have been nearly 120 million more COVID-19 infections. The vaccination program also saved the U.S. $1.15 trillion (Credible Interval: $1.10 trillion–$1.19 trillion) (data not shown) in medical costs that would otherwise have been incurred."
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/two-years-covid-vaccines-prevented-millions-deaths-hospitalizations
Sadly, there are still anti-vaxxers and COVID minimizers out there including on this Forum.
14 Dec 22
@no1marauder saidSound like a god botherer when the heathens don't bow down to your particular fairy tales.
Sadly, there are still anti-vaxxers and COVID minimizers out there including on this Forum.
All you have to do is kneel down, don't ask, just believe.
@metal-brain saidNext to none. And they’re not gene vaccines.
@no1marauder
How many people were killed by the gene vaccines?
@shavixmir saidWhat is your source of information?
Next to none. And they’re not gene vaccines.
Provide the data.
What is the title to this government article?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33772572/
@metal-brain saidYes. Read the whole article.
What is your source of information?
Provide the data.
What is the title to this government article?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33772572/
Realise when it was written.
Then do some proper bloody research.
The Ford Fiesta utilises Formula 1 technology. For example: buttons on the steering wheel.
Yet, surprisingly enough, the Ford Fiesta isn’t a Formula 1 racing car.
Moron.
14 Dec 22
@no1marauder saidFair to say I'm not a covid maximiser, 155% keyrect, but I'm no anti vaxxer.
Sadly, there are still anti-vaxxers and COVID minimizers out there including on this Forum.
If you want it you should get it, get as many as you like, don't forget to pay for it too. I won't pay for your drugs and you won't have to pay for my drugs. Everyone's happy.
14 Dec 22
@shavixmir saidIt was written in 2021. What does that prove? Here is one from 2003.
Yes. Read the whole article.
Realise when it was written.
Then do some proper bloody research.
The Ford Fiesta utilises Formula 1 technology. For example: buttons on the steering wheel.
Yet, surprisingly enough, the Ford Fiesta isn’t a Formula 1 racing car.
Moron.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12667025/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_vaccine
@no1marauder saidOkay, I'm debating on whether to post this because I really don't want to come off as anti-vaccine. I think the covid vaccine was a wonderful thing and saved a lot of lives. I also think it's a good idea for many people (though the jury's very much still out on children).
"From December 2020 through November 2022, we estimate that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the U.S. prevented more than 18.5 million additional hospitalizations and 3.2 million additional deaths. Without vaccination, there would have been nearly 120 million more COVID-19 infections. The vaccination program also saved the U.S. $1.15 trillion (Credible Interval: $1.10 ...[text shortened]... tions
Sadly, there are still anti-vaxxers and COVID minimizers out there including on this Forum.
That said, reading that study makes me want to look at the calendar to check if it's April 1.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/two-years-covid-vaccines-prevented-millions-deaths-hospitalizations
Okay, let's think about this. And please feel free to debate and tell me why I'm being silly here.
I have checked and looked and checked again and clicked on every link in the article and can find not a single piece of concrete information that indicates how they drew their assumptions. I even clicked on "download data" on the chart and all I get is the exact same info in an Excel spreadsheet.
They claim that the vaccines averted 120m infections. They say zero about their methodology other than that they used a model (a secret model, I guess). Under the chart, there is a note:
Source: Meagan C. Fitzpatrick et al., “Two Years of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccines Have Prevented Millions of Hospitalizations and Deaths,” To the Point (blog), Commonwealth Fund, Dec. 13, 2022. https://doi.org/10.26099/whsf-fp90
But then the link (https://doi.org/10.26099/whsf-fp90) circles right back to the SAME ARTICLE!!! I mean, what the actual duck is going on here? My source for my claim is my claim!!??
Is the link broken? Is it simply a typo? No idea, but this article has been cited all over the media. How could they be that sloppy on such a critical point?
But fine. Let's say 120m infections avoided. Even though we see that the vaxxed got Omicron quite prolifically. But let's say.
Then they're claiming 120m avoided infects avoided ~3.26m deaths. This assumes an infection fatality rate of over 2.7%!!
2.7%? The Imperial model in March 2020 assumes 0.9% and that was with the original strain and that was before anyone had any natural immunity and before the people who were most vulnerable to covid died of covid in Spring 2020. And even the Imperial model turned out to be an overestimate of the IFR according to most sources that I've seen.
So, I saw the 2.7% and said "WTF?" But then I said to myself "Sh, calm down. These authors seems qualified. There must be a basis for this seemingly insane assumption. Read the paper and see if it makes sense.
So, I searched through the article and guess what! There is no paper. I mean NONE.
The relevant section, in WHOLE, is:
HOW WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY
To evaluate the impact of the vaccination program in the United States, we expanded our age-stratified, agent-based model of COVID-19 to include waning of naturally acquired or vaccine-elicited immunity, as well as booster vaccination. For the timelines of this study, the characteristics of five variants were included in the model, each with cumulative prevalence of at least 3 percent in the U.S., including Iota, Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, in addition to the original Wuhan-I SARS-CoV-2 strain.
The model parameters included the population demographics of the U.S., prevalence of comorbidities, an empirically determined contact network accounting for changes in pandemic restrictions and mobility patterns, as well as age-specific risks of severe health outcomes because of COVID-19. The model incorporated data on daily vaccine doses administered in the U.S. and implemented the age-based expansion of the vaccination program. The minimum age eligibility for vaccination was 16 years before May 13, 2021, after which children 12 to 15 became eligible for vaccination. Vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 with Pfizer-BioNTech started on November 2, 2021; vaccination of children ages 6 months to 5 years began on June 18, 2022. First boosters were authorized to elderly people and individuals with comorbidities on September 1, 2021, and expanded to other age groups over the next few months. On March 29, 2022, an additional booster was recommended, and an Omicron-specific booster was introduced on September 1, 2022.
Vaccine efficacies against infection, and symptomatic and severe disease for different vaccine types — for each variant and by time since vaccination — were drawn from published estimates. The model was calibrated to reported national incidence data between October 1, 2020, and November 30, 2022, and validated with the trends of hospitalizations and deaths.
We evaluated the impact of vaccine rollout by simulating the pandemic trajectory under the counterfactual scenario without vaccination. The simulated outcomes of total infections, hospitalizations, and deaths were compared to the fitted model, reflecting the actual pandemic in the U.S. and vaccinations that occurred between December 12, 2020, and November 30, 2022. We then estimated medical cost savings based on these averted outcomes, as previously described.
The only hyperlink is on "previously described" which links to this article:
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/fall-covid-19-booster-campaign-could-save-thousands-lives-billions-dollars
But that article doesn't so much as mention the assumed IFR or how they justified it!
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but I can't find any discussion or justification for an assumed 2.7% IFR. From 2021, the actual IFR was estimated at 0.314% in a Lancet-published study (funded by the Gates Foundation, incidentally).
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02867-1/fulltext
True, that is with the vaccine existing, but they're already crediting the vaccine with avoiding 120m infections in a country with less than 3x that number of people. Now they get to use the vaccine to cut the IFR by almost 90% for those who did get covid!?
I feel like I'm in the looking glass here. Every major media outlet is mindlessly parroting this study and nobody seems to even be discussing the seemingly outrageous assumption that underlies it.
Come on, folks. @wildgrass You're a reasonable fellow. Explain this one to me.
@mchill @sonhouse @kevcvs57 @kewpie @AThousandYoung
Anyone?
@no1marauder I'm also happy to listen to your thoughts, though if you're just going to call me a covid minimizer and run, you can save your breath.
14 Dec 22
@metal-brain saidNot 3 million
@no1marauder
How many people were killed by the gene vaccines?