Study suggests 2025-26 COVID vaccine cuts emergency, urgent care visits by half
A new study suggests that the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against serious illness by reducing the risk of hospitalization and emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits, adding protection for a population with significant existing immunity from previous infections and vaccinations.The study, published today in JAMA Network Open,
found that adults who received the updated vaccine were about 50% less likely
to require ED/UC treatment for COVID and 55% less likely to be hospitalized
than those who did not receive the vaccine.
Booster augments previous immunity
For the study, researchers led by a team from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from more than 111,000
adults across 253 EU/UCs and 179 hospitals in seven states from September
through December 2025. They compared patients who tested positive for COVID
with those who tested negative and identified whether they had received the
2025-26 vaccine.
Overall, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-related
ED/UC visits was estimated at 50%. Protection against hospitalization was 55%.















