Nearly 140,000 U.S. Deaths Prevented by Early COVID-19 Vaccinations

With COVID-19 cases again on the rise in the United States and around the world, vaccination campaigns continue to be of vital importance for a successful return to pre-pandemic life.

A new study by Indiana University and RAND Corp. researchers assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccination and found that 139,393 deaths were prevented during the first five months of vaccination efforts in the United States.

"Even in the early stages of the vaccination rollout, when the number of fully vaccinated people was relatively low, we found vaccination had a huge impact on the number of lives saved," said Sumedha Gupta, an associate professor of economics in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI and lead author on the study. "This is a big public health concern that affects everyone, and by knowing the benefits of vaccination, we, as a society, are able to make informed decisions about vaccination campaigns and policies."