The latest versions of COVID-19 vaccines were 54% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in adults, according to the first U.S. study evaluating vaccine effectiveness.
These vaccines, available since last year, have been designed to better protect against the newest variants of the coronavirus.
In Thursday’s study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined 9,000 people who were tested for COVID-19 at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, checking who tested positive and who had received a new vaccine or not.
The 54% figure is similar to what has been reported in other countries, and it also matches what was found for an earlier version of the vaccine, said Ruth Link-Gelles of the CDC, the lead author of the study.
Studies to be published later this year will evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing symptoms severe enough to send patients to the doctor or hospital, she added.
The CDC recommends the new vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, but most Americans have not yet received them.
According to the latest CDC data, only 22% of American adults have been vaccinated, and only 11% of children. The slow uptake of these vaccines meant it took longer for researchers to gather enough data to evaluate the vaccines’ effectiveness, Link-Gelles said.
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