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The impact of the COVID-19 vaccines has been so dramatic that elderly Israelis currently use roughly the same number of ventilators as those under 50, researchers said on Sunday.
In October, almost six times as many Israelis over 70 needed respiratory support as those under 50. But now, following intense vaccination in the elderly, the ratio is 1.07 to 1, respectively, according to a multi-institutional research team.
Israel currently has 241 ventilated patients. This is notably a total number higher than the October figures – but comes amid an unprecedented wave of infection that has seen much higher morbidity and mortality rates than in previous outbreaks .
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The researchers believe the data reflects the vaccine reducing infection rates and alleviating disease for those who are infected, but did not analyze the extent of each effect.
The data was compiled by a research team from Ben Gurion University, Shamir Medical Center and Maccabi Healthcare Services. Some of their research was published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Friday.
“Ultimately, it appears that the vaccine has a widespread protective effect against serious disease, and this is the most important result,” Ehud Rinott, epidemiology researcher at Ben-Gurion University, told The Times of Israel. .
He added that while the spread of the coronavirus remains a concern, the figures indicate that the concern that has motivated many measures to combat the pandemic – namely the concern of widespread serious illness among the elderly – appears to be dissipating. .
“We have to remember that the reason we worry about the coronavirus is not because of high infection rates or mild illness, but because it can cause [patients] to be unable to breathe on their own, ”commented Rinott.
A coronavirus ward at Galilee Medical Center (Ancho Gosh Jini Photo Agency via Galilee Medical Center)
The team’s article details a sharp drop in the proportion of ventilated patients – mainly those on a ventilator but also those receiving respiratory assistance by other means – who are over 70 compared to under 50. . The ratio was 5.8 to 1 in October, and when the paper was submitted in early February, it was 1.9 to 1.
Since the article was prepared for publication, it has fallen to a ratio of 1.07 to 1. As the researchers wanted to compare the demographics of the oldest and the youngest, they did not analyze the group of age 51 to 69.
Currently, 87% of people aged 70 to 79 are fully vaccinated, as are 82% of citizens aged 80 and over.
A ventilator helps a COVID-19 patient breathe inside the Coronavirus unit at a Houston hospital, July 6, 2020 (AP Photo / David J. Phillip, File)
Rinott noted that the change in ventilator needs occurred at the height of Israel’s third wave as the total number of ventilated people increased, when those over the age of 50 began to ventilate at the precise moment when vaccines were effective in the elderly.
Rinott acknowledged that other factors besides vaccines, such as the rise of the UK variant and the effects of the lockdown, may have impacted the results, but the vaccination factor should be considered highly significant.
He expressed hope that the drop in disaggregated cases among the massively vaccinated group of 70 and over would inspire young Israelis who are slower to vaccinate to do so. He said it illustrates that being on a ventilator due to the coronavirus was increasingly a “preventable danger.”
The report follows other studies showing that vaccines reduce infection rates and viral load among those who catch the virus.
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