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HomeMorbidity & Mortality Weekly Reportindex/list_12208_1COVID-19 Vaccination and Non–COVID-19 Mortality Risk

COVID-19 Vaccination and Non–COVID-19 Mortality Risk

Abstract and Introduction

Introduction

By September 21, 2021, an estimated 182 million persons in the United States were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.* Clinical trials indicate that Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2), Moderna (mRNA-1273), and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson; Ad.26.COV2.S) vaccines are effective and generally well tolerated.[1–3] However, daily vaccination rates have declined approximately 78% since April 13, 2021; vaccine safety concerns have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.[4] A cohort study of 19,625 nursing home residents found that those who received an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) had lower all-cause mortality than did unvaccinated residents,[5] but no studies comparing mortality rates within the general population of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons have been conducted. To assess mortality not associated with COVID-19 (non–COVID-19 mortality) after COVID-19 vaccination in a general population setting, a cohort study was conducted during December 2020–July 2021 among approximately 11 million persons enrolled in seven Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) sites.§ After standardizing mortality rates by age and sex, this study found that COVID-19 vaccine recipients had lower non–COVID-19 mortality than did unvaccinated persons. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and VSD site, this study found that adjusted relative risk (aRR) of non–COVID-19 mortality for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 0.41 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38–0.44) after dose 1 and 0.34 (95% CI = 0.33–0.36) after dose 2. The aRRs of non–COVID-19 mortality for the Moderna vaccine were 0.34 (95% CI = 0.32–0.37) after dose 1 and 0.31 (95% CI = 0.30–0.33) after dose 2. The aRR after receipt of the Janssen vaccine was 0.54 (95% CI = 0.49–0.59). There is no increased risk for mortality among COVID-19 vaccine recipients. This finding reinforces the safety profile of currently approved COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.

VSD, a collaborative project between CDC’s Immunization Safety Office and nine health care organizations, collects electronic health data, including information on vaccines, for specific studies. In this cohort study of VSD members aged ≥12 years, vaccination status through May 31, 2021 was determined. Index dates were assigned to all persons on the basis of the distribution of vaccination dates among vaccinated persons. Person-time for unvaccinated persons included unvaccinated person-time before COVID-19 vaccination among COVID-19 vaccinees, and unvaccinated person-time of persons who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 31, 2021. To ensure comparable health care–seeking behavior among persons who received a COVID-19 vaccine and those who did not (unvaccinated persons), eligible unvaccinated persons were selected from among those who received ≥1 dose of influenza vaccine in the last 2 years. Separate unvaccinated groups were selected for mRNA and Janssen vaccines.** Deaths were identified through VSD, which captures hospital deaths and deaths reported to health plans. In this study, non–COVID-19 deaths were assessed because a protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination for COVID-19–related deaths was expected. Non–COVID-19 deaths were those that did not occur within 30 days of an incident COVID-19 diagnosis or receipt of a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) via reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction or rapid test.

Standardized mortality rates (SMRs) (deaths per 100 person-years) were calculated and compared with a rate ratio test between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups;[6] a population of VSD members who were enrolled in December 2020 was used as the standard population. Overall SMRs were reported separately for Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen vaccines. Poisson models were used to calculate overall aRRs and 95% CIs adjusted for age, sex, race and ethnicity, and VSD site. SMRs and aRRs by age, sex, and race and ethnicity were also calculated, adjusting for other demographic characteristics. Analytical units were aggregated counts of deaths and person-years by vaccination status, age, sex, race and ethnicity, and VSD site. All analyses were conducted using SAS statistical software (version 9.4; SAS Institute).†† This work was reviewed by CDC and VSD sites§§ and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.¶¶

The cohort consisted of 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccinees and 4.6 million unvaccinated persons with similar characteristics as the comparison groups. Among 3.5 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients, 9.2% were aged 12–17 years, 69.4% were aged 18–64 years, 54.0% were female, 42.7% were White persons, 21.4% were Hispanic persons, 16.6% were Asian persons, and 5.1% were Black persons (Table 1). Among 2.6 million Moderna vaccine recipients, 71.7% were aged 18–64 years, 54.5% were female, 44.2% were White persons, 23.1% were Hispanic persons, 14.2% were Asian persons, and 5.6% were Black persons. Among 342,169 Janssen vaccine recipients, 87.5% were aged 18–64 years, 4.1% were aged ≥75 years, 48.0% were female, 45.1% were White persons, 20.3% were Hispanic persons, 13.4% were Asian persons, and 6.1% were Black persons.

After excluding COVID-19–associated deaths, overall SMRs after dose 1 were 0.42 and 0.37 per 100 person-years for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, respectively, and were 0.35 and 0.34, respectively, after dose 2 (Table 2). These rates were lower than the rate of 1.11 per 100 person-years among the unvaccinated mRNA vaccine comparison group (p <0.001). Among Janssen vaccine recipients, the overall SMR was 0.84 per 100 person-years, lower than the rate of 1.47 per 100 person-years among the unvaccinated comparison group (p <0.001). Among persons aged 12–17 years, SMRs were similar among the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients and unvaccinated comparison groups (p = 0.68 after dose 1 and 0.89 after dose 2). SMRs were also similar between Janssen vaccine recipients and unvaccinated comparison groups among Asian persons (p = 0.11). Among other subgroups defined by vaccine received, age, sex, and race and ethnicity, COVID-19 vaccine recipients had lower SMRs than did their unvaccinated counterparts (p <0.05).

The overall aRR among Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients compared with the unvaccinated comparison group was 0.41 (95% CI = 0.38–0.44) after dose 1 and 0.34 (95% CI = 0.33–0.36) after dose 2 (Table 3). Among Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients aged 12–17 years, mortality risk among vaccinated and unvaccinated persons was similar after dose 1 (aRR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.38–1.90) and after dose 2 (aRR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.33–1.64). Among other age groups, aRRs ranged from 0.35 (95% CI = 0.29–0.42) among persons aged 45–64 years to 0.46 (95% CI = 0.39–0.54) among persons aged ≥85 years after dose 1, and from 0.28 (95% CI = 0.25–0.31) among persons aged 45–64 years to 0.39 (95% CI = 0.36–0.43) among those aged ≥85 years after dose 2. Similar aRRs among vaccinated persons compared with the unvaccinated comparison group were observed for recipients of the Moderna vaccine, ranging from 0.31 (95% CI = 0.26–0.37) among persons aged 45–64 years to 0.46 (95% CI = 0.31–0.69) among persons aged 18–44 years after dose 1, and 0.28 (95% CI = 0.26–0.32) among persons aged 65–74 years to 0.38 (95% CI = 0.29–0.50) among those aged 18–44 years after dose 2. The overall aRR for Janssen was 0.54 (95% CI = 0.49–0.59), and age-stratified aRRs ranged from 0.40 (95% CI = 0.34–0.49) among persons aged 45–64 years to 0.68 (95% CI = 0.56–0.82) among persons aged ≥85 years. Across vaccine type and dose, males and females had comparable aRRs. All vaccinated racial and ethnic groups had lower mortality risks than did unvaccinated comparison groups.

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