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RAND study: Early COVID vaccination efforts saved 140,000 U.S. lives

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Distribution of COVID-19 vaccines during the first few months of availability in the United States prevented nearly 140,000 virus-related deaths and 3 million infections, according to a study released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County-based think tank RAND and Indiana University.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, concluded that by the middle of May, the vaccination campaign that began in December led the average U.S. state to experience five fewer deaths per 10,000 adult residents. California saw an estimated 6.1 fewer COVID deaths per 10,000 adult residents, according to researchers. New York saw the largest estimated decrease, at 11.7 per 10,000.

“This study brings into focus the dramatic success of the early months of the nation’s coronavirus vaccine rollout,” according to a statement from Christopher Whaley, senior author of the study and a policy researcher at RAND Corporation. “The findings provide support for policies that further expand vaccine administration to enable a larger proportion of the nation’s population to benefit.”

Using data on vaccine administration and COVID deaths compiled by Bloomberg and The New York Times, respectively, researchers developed a model to estimate the number of fatalities that would have occurred absent the vaccinations. The study analyzed data from Dec. 21, 2020, to May 9.

According to researchers, Alaska was the first state to reach a vaccination rate of 20 doses per 100 adults, hitting that mark on Jan. 29. Alabama was the last state to hit that milestone.

California became the first state to reach the rate of 120 doses per 100 adults on May 6. According to RAND, many states still have not reached that rate.

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37 comments for "RAND study: Early COVID vaccination efforts saved 140,000 U.S. lives"

  1. Fox ‘news’ tells its employees to get vaccinated.

    Fox ‘news’ tells its viewers that vaccines might not work.

    Is this a great country or what?

    FREEDOM is good for ratings but bad for your health.

    Do ya wanna watch the channel with the ratings or get sick and die? You can do both at Fox.

    No need to choose. FREEDOM!!! STUPIDITY!!! You can have it all.

  2. Fact: President Trump prepaid for some of the vaccines to eliminate all financial risks from pharmaceutical companies, and that put them into overdrive.

    But as Tim points out, the mRNA vaccines were already being developed.

    But to be fair, the left will not give Trump credit for anything. They blamed him for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Trump Derangement Syndrome is still eating away at their brains like the ear wig from old Twilight Zone.

    • No, Trump gets blamed for the absolutely horrific federal response to Hurricane Maria, not for the hurricane itself. And you KNOW that the response was horrific. You also know that the reason it was so horrific is that Trump doesn’t think Puerto Ricans are “real Americans” and that when he says “Make America Great Again” he is thinking of some “good old days” he remembers where Puerto Ricans “knew their place, along with the other non-whites.” He’s a racist pig, and any attempt to deny that on his behalf is unwarranted as well as unbelievable. You are better than that.

      PS: Pharmaceutical companies did not need any “financial risk protections” in order to persuade them into the gold mine that was yawning open in front of them. Trump just wanted something showy but meaningless that he could claim credit for.

      • All my family are Borinqueneers. Those in the States agree with you. Trump throwing paper towels seemed to particularly p!$$ them off also, lol.

        Those in PR appreciated the response. The corrupt mayor of San Juan and later-deposed governor “Ricki” controlled the docks, main airport and transport system. Truckers had to pay bribes to distribute federal aid. Pallets of water, MREs and building materials rotted away on the tarmac at San Juan airport cause the truckers wouldn’t pay.

        Trump pumped $40 billion in but put PR on a budget and the local politicians howled like stuffed pigs cause they couldn’t steal it.

        BTW: They also liked vaccine distribution in PR. Something went right for a change.

        Just my personal experience.

      • Matt. Trump thought he was the guy on the Brawny towels now replaced by a woman.

        Of course, Trump shoulda been on the Bounty paper towels featuring that big, fat gut full of junk food. THAT’S a Bounty…waiting for a mutiny. We gave him one.

    • Trumpist. Give it up.

      Trump’s response to a pandemic was a failure.

      The American drug companies’ response was a huge success.

      Do not, under any circumstances, confuse the two as you are wont to do from seeing only with your right eye. Try the good eye next time. Your other left.

      Now, I corrected you but I know that you will continue to do what you do so well even when it’s bull.

      You do have a choice, however. But, ya need a mature mind to choose. I’m certain you’re not there yet.

  3. Hey, don’t compare me with ordinary people. When it comes to stupid, I’m in my own league and without peer. Remember that!

    • Yes sir, Trumpi$$ed!!!

      You are in 20,000 leagues of your own, my friend.

      But, why oh why do you allow yourself to be lumped in with the likes of Beecee, $onya and the rest of the sound-alikes here?

      You are infinitely worse as you must know better. Beecee, $onya and the rest don’t.

      You are distinctly distinct. It must be the Crest.

      Anyway, what are you doing up so early or are you still up from last night? It must be hard to sleep while waiting for Trump to be re-instated.

      Ya don’t wanna miss that. CNN will be there if you do miss it.

      • I’m hanging with the pillow guy and my shaman from Borneo, waiting for the reinstatement. Any minute now.

        • I haven’t heard him say anything about the re-instatement yet.

          Without Twitter, he’s like a Basengi without any of the redeeming qualities.

          Funny how the other Trumpers are silent about all that.

          I mentioned it on the Fox ‘news’ website and got the usual Foxbot replies such as the tired “rent-free” nonsense which is so original, right Beecee?

          Trump is going round the fatherland giving grifting rallies based on the election fraud lie but if anyone mentions it, well, “He’s not the president.” they say. He just thinks he is. Mr. Pillow thinks he is.

          They just don’t want to be reminded of his ridiculousness. They gave us him. Now they don’t want his name mentioned.

          The Trumpers are such pretenders. They should go into show biz. Politics is show biz for ugly people and they qualify…Trump, Ms. Graham, Jim Jordon, McConnell, Nunes, Garcia, McCarthy, Jenner, etc.

    • LOL…sure. Without Trump no pharmaceutical company would EVER have thought “hmmm, world wide pandemic, wonder if there’s be any profit in developing a vaccine for that?” I mean, pharmaceutical companies have never been known for chasing profits, right?

    • Trump made Warp Speed absolutley necessary by downplaying the pandemic and delaying a prompt response. (like he made all those Republican voter suppression laws “necessary” for the Rs after he lost a fair election and complained of election fraud….GOP Logic101)

      We had other pandemics recently that didn’t need warp speed or a lockdown or a recession.

      Here Manny, so you can understand.

      It’s like Trump saw a small, containable fire in a wastebasket in the White House. (an analogy to COVID in February 2020)

      He then told Bob Woodward in an interview that it’s no big deal. (just like he did about the pandemic)

      Then, when the it caught the drapes on fire and eventually the West Wing, Trump gets credit for pulling the alarm LATE and it resulted in a 5 alarmer.

      Now, he and you want to take credit for putting out a 5 alarm fire.

      Do you realize how stupid you and Trumpist are now?

      God. I get so tired of having to explain the reality to you folks. Get a clue. Get lots of clues.

      And, don’t come back here ever till you get yourself a bushel of clues. Got it?

    • I agree Manny, many thanks to Trump for pushing the vaccine through all the red tape.

      Amazing how the alt-left did everything possible to discourage vaccine use and now the boneheads are taking credit for the vaccine’s success.

      Inconceivable!

      • I have to laugh at you Rightside up. Ha.

        When I Googled the exact famous quote about a land war in Asia from The Princess Bride, there were other quotes from Vizzini using the word “inconceivable”.

        “[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up]

        Vizzini : HE DIDN’T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.

        Inigo Montoya : You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

        So, Lopside up. Vizzini, like you, thought he was so smart regarding the switcharoo with the iocaine poison in the wine goblets.

        He got fooled and drank the wrong drink and keeled over.

        You got fooled too. Trump had made such a mess of his response to COVID that only you think it was a success, Vizzini. He botched up his response so badly that the drug companies had to, that’s HAD TO go warp speed to make up for his delayed response and dishonest downplaying of the risk COVID exposed the country to.

        Research on other life-saving meds like cancer drugs got put on hold to handle Trump’s failed response and made a COVID vaccine an emergency project and dispensed before FDA approval. That’s how messed up Trump handled it. And, you fell for the bull.

        See my analogy about that with the small fire in the White House so you’ll understand why your comment was erroneous and foolish.

        I wonder if we’ll see your username again after you’ve made its credibility “inconceivable”.

        • William, I am honored to be the target of your misguided rant but the facts are still the facts. You can Google Princess Bride all day long but the facts won’t change. Trump, by pushing Operation Warp Speed, saved many lives.

          Also, thanks for the enlightenment, I was wondering why we had no cure for cancer yet and because of your infinite knowledge now I know, it’s Trump’s fault.

          Dang, I should have seen that one coming.

          • LOL…”pushing operation warp speed” cannot be demonstrated to have done anything but give Trump a talking point. Did you notice that pharmaceutical companies AROUND THE WORLD all developed vaccines in about the same time frame? All they had going for them was PROFIT…so Trump, no ‘warp speed’…just plain old exploitive profits, the same has driven every pharmaceutical company since forever. How do you fit that into your orange maned nitwit hero’s claims that without him and his talking point there wouldn’t be these vaccines?

    • Now if he would only come out and say u guys should get the shot, we would much farther away from this pandemic. We all know u guys follow whatever he says, right or wrong. Why won’t he do that?

        • That IS the beef. If Trump was half, even a tenth, of the “great leader” he pitches himself as he could and would contribute to ending the pandemic just by saying “look, I MADE the vaccine happen, it’s good and it works and everyone needs to get vaccinated as fast as possible.” But he is afraid to cross his so called “followers” who are actually apparently just a mob going where they will that he ran out in front of and called himself a leader. He thrives on their adulation and fears upsetting them more than he fears letting them just die, or run off a cliff. That isn’t “a leader,” that’s just a swell headed buffoon.

          • Exactly, they can’t alienate their anti-vac base. Trump has turned into Dr.Waldman. Look it up if you don’t know what I mean.

          • Y’see, we think that the Republicans created a monster when they jumped on the Trump fertilizer-wagon.

            But, it went both ways.

            Trump created his own “monsters” such as the Proud Boys and others who stormed the Capital. He’s stuck with having to “lead” them now.

            And, he is flailing about Twitterless depending on Fox ‘news’ that he’s dissed so Fox is split several ways. They aren’t all Haniitys and Carlsons.

            Fox ‘news?’ is straddling OAN, Breitbart and other right wing outlets AND trying to hold onto its sponsors. Carlson has lost a bunch.

            Fox ‘news’ is not really news just whatever is red meat to its base of ill-informed viewers.

            Together with capon McCarthy pulling his members off the 1/6 House investigation, Fox ‘news?’ will likely give it scant coverage, so Fox viewers will remain clueless. We’ll be seeing that cluelessness here soon when newbie usernmaes show up to comment on the investigation.

            And, if they do cover it, it will be with Fox voice-over commentary when the Democrats are asking questions of witnesses. I’ve seen it before.

            Is it any wonder so many on the right are refusing to wear masks or get vaccines?

            They voted for Trump. What do you expect?

          • I’ve tried to ignore the news since Jan.3, but if Trump didn’t or hasn’t encouraged EVERYONE to get vaccinated for political purposes as you say, then he sucks and I’m very disappointed.

          • You really need to catch up or shut up. You keep getting caught in attempted defense of the indefensible. The guy overturned 240 years of constitutional government and if it wasn’t for a handful of genuinely heroic efforts from really unexpected sources (credit to Mike Pence and Bill Barr, of all people, for turning back at the edge of the precipice) there would be no republic here. Trump SHOULD be hanged as a traitor, though for the feint of heart incarceration with no outside contact would be secure enough I suppose.

          • Come on, Tim. Open up and tell is how you really feel.

            Seriously, I always value your viewpoint.