Users are falsely claiming that there is no proof that COVID-19 vaccines reduce severity of illness and hospitalization for those infected with the coronavirus.

An example can be seen here . It reads, “Suddenly the message is that if you're vaccinated but GET Covid, the vaccine made it "mild"... And it is 100% UNproven B.S.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far granted emergency use authorization to three COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, including the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines (here).

INITIAL TRIALS

In November 2020, Pfizer/BioNTech said its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 95% in preventing COVID-19 in trials (here ) while Moderna said the equivalent for its shot was 94.1% (here ). In March 2021, Johnson & Johnson reported 66.3% efficacy from its trials (here ).

EFFICACY UPDATES, EARLY 2021

In April 2021, when the Alpha variant was the dominant variant of the virus in the U.S. (here ), Pfizer said here its vaccine had a 91.3% efficacy against COVID-19 “measured seven days through up to six months after the second dose”, with 100% effectiveness against severe disease as defined by the CDC and 95.3% effectiveness against severe disease as defined by the FDA.

In the same month, Moderna said here that updated studies showed more than 90% efficacy against COVID-19 with more than 95% against severe disease with about 6 months median follow up after the administration of the second dose.

The FDA confirmed in February 2021 that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provided 72% efficacy against COVID-19 and 86% efficacy against severe disease.

DELTA VARIANT EFFICACY

Evidence of the Delta variant’s higher transmissibility has concerned scientists and public health officials. Further Reuters reporting on this can be found here .

Vaccine protection remains very strong against severe disease and hospitalizations caused by any variation of the coronavirus, with the unvaccinated the most at risk, according to interviews with 10 leading COVID-19 experts.

A study published on July 22, 2021, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that two doses of Pfizer's shot were 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from the Delta variant, compared to 93.7% against the Alpha variant (here).

On June 29, 2021, Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine showed promise against the Delta variant with a modest decrease in response compared to the original strain. The study was conducted on blood serum from eight participants obtained one week after they received the second dose of the vaccine, mRNA-1273.

The vaccine provoked an antibody response against all the variants tested, according to Moderna, but one that remained inferior in all cases to the vaccine’s neutralizing activity against the original coronavirus strain first discovered in China. The vaccine was far more effective in producing antibodies against the Delta variant than it was against the Beta variant first identified in South Africa, the data showed.

Johnson and Johnson said in July 2021 that its vaccine was highly effective against the Delta variant, however, further studies were needed (here).

Data from the CDC here shows a significant decrease in hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 after the rollout of the vaccines in early 2021. Both cases and hospitalizations have recently increased slightly as the more contagious Delta variant became dominant in the U.S.

Meanwhile, most recent COVID-19 deaths have been among the unvaccinated. In Italy, 99% of COVID deaths since February were not fully vaccinated (here). Indonesian officials found unvaccinated people more than three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those vaccinated (here).

In the U.S., unvaccinated people represent nearly 97% of severe cases, according to the White House COVID-19 Response Team (here).

VERDICT

False. COVID-19 vaccinations significantly reduce the risk of severe illness and death from the virus.