This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I'm Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine.
Someday, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to have a calm and informed debate about what interventions saved the most lives during the coronavirus pandemic. My personal vote — supplemental oxygen — doesn't get enough appreciation.
Other interventions are no doubt up there as well: dexamethasone, mechanical ventilation, ECMO, proning, and, of course and without a doubt, vaccines.
Vaccines have performed better in this pandemic than we had any right to hope for. Before the vaccines had come out, I had written an article arguing that a 50% effective vaccine would still be a huge boon to humankind during the pandemic. When we saw 95% efficacy in the original clinical trials, it felt like a miracle. Of course, as the virus mutated, efficacy has waned, and yet we still see a clear benefit of vaccination in terms of preventing the worst outcomes.
At least on an individual level.
The vast majority of studiesof vaccination focus on the individual — comparing death rates, for example, between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
New Pandemic Peril? Pretending It's Over as Case Numbers Rise
COMMENTARY
You vs Us: Whom Did COVID Vaccines Protect?
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE
DisclosuresMay 04, 2022
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I'm Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine.
Someday, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to have a calm and informed debate about what interventions saved the most lives during the coronavirus pandemic. My personal vote — supplemental oxygen — doesn't get enough appreciation.
Other interventions are no doubt up there as well: dexamethasone, mechanical ventilation, ECMO, proning, and, of course and without a doubt, vaccines.
Vaccines have performed better in this pandemic than we had any right to hope for. Before the vaccines had come out, I had written an article arguing that a 50% effective vaccine would still be a huge boon to humankind during the pandemic. When we saw 95% efficacy in the original clinical trials, it felt like a miracle. Of course, as the virus mutated, efficacy has waned, and yet we still see a clear benefit of vaccination in terms of preventing the worst outcomes.
At least on an individual level.
The vast majority of studiesof vaccination focus on the individual — comparing death rates, for example, between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
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Cite this: F. Perry Wilson. You vs Us: Whom Did COVID Vaccines Protect? - Medscape - May 04, 2022.
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Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Author(s)
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine; Director, Clinical and Translational Research Accelerator, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
Disclosure: F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.