The prevailing narrative tells us that vaccinating the frail and elderly against Covid had a dramatic effect on mortality. How strong is the presumed effect of a Covid vaccine in that vulnerable population? Is it as strong as many believe, or perhaps much closer to zero than to the other end of the scale?
First, there is bad news to share, even before estimating any possible benefit.
Data from
Denmark,
Israel, and
Sweden show increased risk of infection within one week or so after the first dose. Possible mechanisms include transient immunosuppression (
decreased lymphocyte count), conversion of asymptomatic infection to symptomatic infection, and infection at vaccination sites. News outlets in Israel reported
outbreaks of Covid infections in nursing homes shortly after the initiation of the vaccination campaign, and
again after initiating the booster campaign (use Google Translate). Needless to say, when the risk of infection increases, the risk of death increases too.
Skipping the hazard period, studies of vaccine effectiveness (thereafter, VE) reported a remarkable result that should have surprised knowledgeable readers. Estimates for the elderly have been extremely high, sometimes similar to those for younger age groups.
For instance, a study in Israel of elderly residents of long-term care facilities reported VE of 85% against Covid death.That is not only contrary to basic knowledge from immunology but is also incompatible with the following observation:
Comment: See also: