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Reductions in Deaths and Hospitalizations Associated with COVID-19 Vaccinations Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Full Year 2021 Estimates

Publication Date
Authors
Lok Wong Samson, Bisma Ali Sayed, E. John Orav, Steven Sheingold, and Benjamin D. Sommers

This study updates ASPE’s previous analysis of the associations between COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Medicare beneficiaries and COVID-19 vaccination rates, with full year data through the end of 2021. The study uses a combination of person-level Medicare claims and county-level vaccination data to estimate reductions in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Medicare beneficiaries associated with COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021. We find that vaccines were associated with 670,000-680,000 fewer hospitalizations and 330,000-370,000 fewer deaths among Medicare beneficiaries in 2021, with the largest reductions during the summer Delta surge. This represents a 39–47 percent reduction in these outcomes. Reductions in hospitalization and deaths linked to vaccination rates occurred in all racial and ethnic groups and in all 50 states.

Related Products:

Product Type
ASPE Issue Brief
Populations
Older Adults | Black & African American People | American Indian & Alaska Native People (AI-AN) | Asian American & Pacific Islanders People (AAPI) | Hispanic, Latino, Latina, & Latinx People | Racial & Ethnic Groups | White People | Medicare Beneficiaries
Location- & Geography-Based Data
National Data | State Data | County Data
Program
Medicare