The National Centre for Epidemiology and the Ministry of Health have participated, together with other European researchers, in a study published by the World Health Organisation’s Respiratory Surveillance Network for Europe.
The National Epidemiology Centre of the Carlos III Health Institute and the Ministry of Health have participated, together with other European researchers, in a study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) Respiratory Surveillance Network for Europe, which estimates how many lives were directly saved by vaccinating adults against COVID-19.
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COVID-19 vaccines saved the lives of 1.6 million people in Europe
The paper, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, reports that, from their introduction in December 2020 to March 2023, COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths due to the pandemic by at least 59%, saving more than 1.6 million lives in the WHO European Region.
In particular, they reveal that the known number of COVID-19 deaths in Europe, currently 2.2 million, could have reached 4 million without the vaccines. Most of the people saved were aged 60 years or older, the group most at risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
‘The results are clear: vaccination against COVID-19 saves lives. Our findings remind us of the integral role vaccines play in ensuring that people return to pre-pandemic-like lives across the Region, at work and at play. Without the massive vaccination effort, we would have seen many more livelihoods affected and families losing the most vulnerable,’ says the study’s lead author, Margaux Meslé of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
The research also shows that countries that implemented early vaccination programmes that covered large sections of the population had the greatest benefit in terms of the total number of lives saved.
The study reveals that communication campaigns promoting COVID-19 vaccination should emphasise the life-saving value of COVID-19 vaccination to ensure that vulnerable groups are up to date with vaccination before periods of potential increased transmission.
This is because the results confirm that receiving an up-to-date COVID-19 vaccine remains an extremely effective tool for reducing both hospitalisations and deaths in people at high risk, including the elderly or immunocompromised, those with multiple underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers who may be easily exposed.