Nebraska In-Depth Analysis Show COVID Vaccines Very Effective In Preventing Hospitalization

     A new in-depth analysis led by Nebraska State Epidemiologist Dr Matthew Donahue on how COVID vaccinations correlate to hospitalization gives clear evidence of how well the vaccines prevent serious cases.

      Although the vaccines are much less successful in preventing infection from the Omicron variant than they were with earlier variants, they’re outstanding in keeping patients from needing hospitalization.

       Dr Donahue says those who received the vaccine but not the booster were 11 times less likely to be hospitalized than the unvaccinated while those who also got the booster were 26 times less likely to need hospitalization for COVID than unvaccinated individuals.

      That’s important because the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Nebraska jumped above 700 last week for the first time since December 2020. Health and Human Services reported 714 hospitalizations last Wednesday.

    That’s still below the all-time peak of 987 set in November 2020, but has been steadily increasing the past month with health officials expecting continued growth.

     Governor Pete Ricketts has said he will issue new Designated Health Mandates limiting some types of surgeries and procedures to protect hospital capacity if COVID cases top 15% of total hospitalizations in the state.

    Fewer than 58% of eligible Nebraskans are vaccinated as of last week, but that’s well above the Panhandle rate of less than 41%.