New research shows that increasing access to COVID-19 booster shots will significantly reduce hospitalizations and unnecessary deaths.

Triple the rate of booster vaccinations from 770,000 to 2.3 million daily doses could reduce the expected number of infections Coronavirus disease According to the latest figures from the Commonwealth Fund, hospitalisations fell by more than 35 per cent and deaths fell by almost 30 per cent in the year to April. While hospital admissions are expected to peak at around 30,000 per day near the end of January, the triple booster vaccination would bring the peak down to 21,000 and significantly shorten the duration of the surge, the study found.

This will provide much-needed relief for understaffed hospitals and their staff, the researchers wrote.

Eric Schneider, senior vice president for policy and research at Commonwealth, said: “Given the speed at which omicron spreads, we could save approximately 63,000 lives over the next four months and prevent near-term infections by tripling booster immunizations. 600,000 hospitalized.” “There is a sense of hopelessness in the omicron, but since the booster restores immunity to COVID-19 within days, it could have a big impact,” he said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, only 35 percent of adult Americans receive a booster shot. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The kids have limited access Enhanced shooting: as of Thursday, only children aged 12-17 are eligible, and they must receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The barrier to adult booster intake isn’t supply; it’s largely due to lack of awareness and uncertainty, Schneider said.

Booster vaccinations could be significantly increased, the researchers wrote. Last year, the United States delivered more than 2 million daily doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for nearly three months.The federal government has Added 10,000 vaccination sites And through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, mobile vaccination clinics have been activated.

“There’s been a lot of effort to promote it, but I didn’t know the booster got the same level of attention and consistent messaging As a vaccine,” Schneider said. “The information about the booster and its benefits is not as clear as it might be.

Health systems are increasing outreach and messaging around boosters. For example, Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health has launched a mobile vaccination program that has delivered more than 7,000 doses in parks, community centers and schools, said Dr. Sandra Brooks, chief medical officer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The nonprofit health system also coordinates public forums to answer questions about vaccines.

“Our recent focus has been on providing an ongoing pathway for boosters, primary vaccination needs, and opening vaccination clinics in district schools,” Brooks wrote in an email. “Jefferson continues to work with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and our Many community partners collaborate on this work, and we plan to expand access to education and booster injections.”

In addition to reducing the severity of COVID-19 waves, the boosters also help slow the evolution of variants, health officials said.Booster doses are critical to slowing the spread of the virus and protecting people from hospitalization and death,” Dr. Craig Robbins, medical director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Clinical Information Services and Education at the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute in Oakland, Calif., said in a statement. Press Releases.

many Hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. While providers are better prepared for the recent surge, fewer nurses, doctors and other staff are on hand. Providers report that the vast majority of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are not vaccinated.

“It’s not like other waves. It’s more of a people crisis,” said Stephanie Connors, chief operating officer at Jefferson Health. She said more than 60% of COVID-19 patients in the health system were admitted to hospital because of different initial diagnoses. “I’m not saying omicron isn’t clinically relevant, but it’s spreading so fast. Staffing of hospitals is very important.”