If you’re among the nearly half of the state’s population that has not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine yet, Dr. Shaun Grannis has some advice – get the shot.
Grannis is the vice president of data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis.
He’s also the co-author of a study of more than 40,000 hospital admissions and over 20,000 emergency departments across the county that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study showed that unvaccinated individuals were 10 times more likely to be seen in the emergency department or be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who were vaccinated.
“I think we need to continue doing what we’re doing right now, which is to get the information out there on how profoundly effective these vaccines are,” Grannis said.
READ MORE: Healthcare Workers Concerned As COVID Cases, Hospitalizations On The Rise
He said that while the effectiveness of vaccines has slightly decreased against the delta variant, they are still effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
“One of the things we want people to understand is that vaccines are only designed to prevent infections,” Grannis said. “They’re designed so that if you do get infected, if you have a breakthrough, your symptoms are less severe, the consequences are less severe, and you don’t show up to the emergency department or get hospitalized.”
Grannis says the on-going trials for children 12-and-under is primarily geared toward finding the appropriate dosage.
“We’re looking forward to getting initially an emergence authorization and then, ultimately, approval.”
