In the bad old days, studies suggested that if hospitalized with COVID vs. seasonal influenza, your chance of dying was fivefold greater – a number guaranteed to catch your attention. But times change, as does the current COVID variant of concern. A study of hospitalized patients in the VA system for this influenza season details the changes.
We do not have a denominator for how many individuals were not admitted to the hospital, so the study simply considers, as an outcome, those sufficiently ill to require hospitalization. [1]
- 8,996 hospitalizations for COVID with a 30-day mortality of 5.98%
- 2,403 hospitalizations for influenza with a 30-day mortality of 3.16%
- Roughly 55% were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and 60% for seasonal influenza. The unvaccinated fared more poorly in both instances. Influenza vaccination with not as protective, with a 0.09% reduction in mortality compared with COVID vaccination, with an absolute decrease of 2.57%. For those who like bigger numbers, the relative reduction for influenza vaccination was 2.3% for influenza and 29.3% for COVID vaccination
The mortality from COVID-19 continues to diminish, inching closer to what we might now claim were former President Trump’s prophetic words. These changes are multifactorial, a changing foe, a vaccine that reduces, at a minimum, mortality, and better hospital care. The deaths from seasonal influenza that has been with us much longer show no continued improvement and may reflect the best we can do with these foes.
[1] These are VA patients, so overwhelmingly (95%) male
Source: Risk of Death in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 vs Seasonal Influenza in Fall-Winter 2022-2023 JAMA DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.5348
Chuck Dinerstein, MD, MBA
Director of Medicine
Dr. Charles Dinerstein, M.D., MBA, FACS is Director of Medicine at the American Council on Science and Health. He has over 25 years of experience as a vascular surgeon.
