November 7, 2023

 

"The population benefit of COVID-19 vaccination via direct and indirect effects was substantial in Tokyo in early 2022 during Omicron, with an estimated 65% reduction in the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to a new model that compared risks between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals.

 

The study is published in BMC Infectious Diseases and used data from the sixth wave of COVID-19 cases seen in Tokyo caused by the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron subvariants from January to May 2022.

...

Estimated 8.5 million infections indirectly prevented

The investigators calculated that mass vaccination campaigns directly prevented 640,000 COVID-19 cases during the sixth wave, and indirectly prevented as many as 8.5 million infections."

 

(more)

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-suggests-mass-vaccination-programs-cut-covid-cases-japan-65

 

Conclusions

"The primary series and booster vaccination programs prevented many SARS-CoV-2 transmission and contributed to a 65% reduction in infections during the epidemic wave dominated by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 in Tokyo. Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccination can provide valuable information to guide public health policy and improve our understanding of population-level protection. It is critical to achieve high vaccination coverage to benefit from its valuable direct and indirect effects."

 

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-023-08748-1

 

 

 

So that's "according to a new model" - I guess it must be true then

 

Whether mRNA vaccines were actually advisable to counter at that time, the much milder Omicron variant, is a moot point, (it's MHO that the vaccines might have been justifiable against the earlier fierce versions of the virus, Delta and so on).