Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign significantly impacted public health in New South Wales, saving nearly 20,000 lives between August 2021 and July 2022, according to a study by RMIT and Monash universities. The research indicates that vaccines prevented an estimated 17,760 deaths among individuals over 50 during a challenging period marked by the Delta variant surge, the lifting of extensive lockdowns, and the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Without vaccination efforts, the death toll for this demographic could have reached 21,250, which starkly contrasts with the actual figure of 3,495 deaths. Experts highlight the rapid development of effective vaccines as a monumental achievement in medical science, despite some criticisms regarding vaccine limitations and adverse effects. The analysis underscores the substantially higher risks unvaccinated individuals faced, pointing out that those over 50 were nearly eight times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated peers, with triple-dose recipients enjoying even greater protection.
Epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely commends the timing of Australia’s vaccination uptake before the onset of the Omicron wave, suggesting that the true number of lives saved might be even higher due to possible wider benefits from increased vaccination rates. The study ultimately provides a “conservative approximation” of the lives safeguarded through Australia’s vaccination efforts.