Reduction in COVID-19 Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation Following Implementation of a National COVID-19 Vaccination Program — Israel, December 2020–February 2021

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rinott, Ehud ; Youngster, Ilan ; Lewis, Yair E.
• Corporate Authors:
  Universiṭat Ben-Guryon ba-Negev. Faculty of Health Sciences. Department of Public Health. ; Faḳulṭah li-refuʼah, bet ha-sefer ʻal shem Saḳler. ; Maccabi Healthcare Services (Tel-Aviv, Israel)
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in a controlled setting. Israel initiated a national vaccination campaign in December 2020, prioritizing persons aged >60 years and other high-risk populations.
  
  What is added by this report? By February 2021, 2-dose vaccination coverage was 84% among persons aged ≥70 years and 10% among those aged <50 years. The ratio of COVID-19 patients aged ≥70 years requiring mechanical ventilation to those aged <50 years declined 67% from October–December 2020 to February 2021.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? These findings provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing severe cases of COVID-19 at the national level in Israel.
  
  The availability of COVID-19 vaccines represents an opportunity to mitigate the effects of the global pandemic. Achieving high vaccination coverage through intensive vaccination campaigns has the potential to substantially reduce COVID-19–associated morbidity and Mortality. Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing mild and severe COVID-19 in a controlled setting. However, clinical trials are not designed to assess the population impact of vaccination in a real-world setting (1,2). Israel initiated a national vaccination campaign using the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine in December 2020, prioritizing persons aged >60 years, health care workers, and persons with underlying medical conditions. By February 2021, 2-dose vaccination coverage among persons aged ≥70 years was 84%. To assess the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the occurrence of severe disease, an ecological study was conducted. Requiring mechanical ventilation was used as a proxy for severe COVID-19. The number of COVID-19 patients aged ≥70 years (who had the highest 2-dose vaccination coverage, 84.3%) requiring mechanical ventilation was compared with that of patients aged <50 years, who had the lowest 2-dose vaccination coverage (9.9%). Since implementation of the second dose of the vaccination campaign, the ratio of COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation aged ≥70 years to those aged <50 years has declined 67%, from 5.8:1 during October–December 2020 to 1.9:1 in February 2021. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing severe cases of COVID-19 at the national level in Israel. Receipt of COVID-19 vaccines by eligible persons can help limit spread of disease and potentially reduce the occurrence of severe disease.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Rinott E, Youngster I, Lewis YE. Reduction in COVID-19 Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation Following Implementation of a National COVID-19 Vaccination Program — Israel, December 2020–February 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 26 February 2021.
  
  mm7009e3.htm?s_cid=mm7009e3_w#contribAff
  
  mm7009e3-H.pdf
  
  
• Subjects:
  CoronaVirus Infections/Prevention & Control COVID-19/Prevention & Control COVID Vaccine Hyperbaric Oxygenation Immunization Programs Respiration, Artificial
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2021; v. 70 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Israel
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• Volume:
  70
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1fa614010b83e50a82d377d57b9cbf3a06264752791c68b9fe2a4bf7a90441d99cdb2dec7641b2d3dec884482a3b930a6b6ebac465257485b3387645dab05a3b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/103405/cdc_103405_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 348.12 KB ]