Twelve per cent of hospitalised adults had had the current vaccine

COVID-NET tracks COVID-19–associated hospitalisations across twelve states.
Between October 2023 and April 2024:

The twelve per cent

Eighty-eight per cent of adults hospitalised with COVID-19 had not had the
season's recommended vaccine.

That is not proof the vaccine would have kept each of them out of hospital —
the people who skip vaccination differ in other ways too. But it is a striking
figure against a population where uptake was recommended for everyone, and it
describes where the burden actually fell.

What the report asks people at risk to do

Three things, in order of when they apply:

1. Reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the first place
2. Receive the recommended vaccinations
3. Seek prompt outpatient antiviral treatment after a positive test

The third is the most overlooked. Antivirals for COVID-19 work early and in
outpatients — they are a treatment you obtain in the first days, from a GP or
a pharmacy, not something the hospital gives you when you arrive.

An older adult with multiple conditions who tests positive and waits to see
whether it gets bad has usually passed the window by the time it does.

*Source: Taylor CA, Patel K, Pham H, et al. COVID-19–Associated
Hospitalizations Among U.S. Adults Aged ≥18 Years — COVID-NET, 12 States,
October 2023–April 2024. MMWR, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.*