Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Effective Against ED/Urgent Care Encounters

FRIDAY, March 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Updated COVID-19 vaccination is effective against COVID-19-associated emergency department or urgent care encounters, according to research published in the Feb. 29 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Jennifer DeCuir, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues used a test-negative case-control study design with data from two CDC vaccine effectiveness (VE) networks to assess VE of an updated COVID-19 vaccine dose against COVID-19-associated emergency department or urgent care encounters and hospitalization among immunocompetent adults during September 2023 to January 2024.

The researchers found that VE against COVID-19-associated emergency department/urgent care encounters was 51 and 39 percent during the first seven to 59 and 60 to 119 days, respectively, after an updated dose. From two CDC VE networks, VE estimates against COVID-19-associated hospitalization were 52 and 43 percent, respectively, with corresponding median intervals of 42 and 47 days from the updated dose.

"CDC will continue monitoring VE of updated COVID-19 vaccines," the authors write. "These results support CDC recommendations for updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccination."

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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