Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public domain
The Veterans Research and Education Foundation in St. Louis reports that the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine was associated with lower risks of COVID-19-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths in a national cohort of U.S. veterans.
The pandemic is not over, but conditions have changed significantly. Since the initial outbreak spread across the world, SARS-CoV-2 has accumulated mutations that change its severity, while the population has gained immunity from repeated infections and vaccinations have reduced its severity.
Public uncertainty about the continued utility of annual COVID-19 vaccination has continued to grow. By the end of December 2024, the adult vaccination rate against COVID-19 had fallen to around 21%, while that against flu remained at 42%.
Policymakers are openly questioning whether updated COVID-19 vaccines still provide meaningful protection in the current epidemiological context. Contemporary evidence is needed to inform deliberations for the 2025-2026 season.
In the study “Association of 2024-2025 Covid-19 Vaccine with Covid-19 Outcomes in US Veterans,” published in The New England Journal of MedicineResearchers conducted an observational study using Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health records to evaluate the effectiveness of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine against emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths associated with COVID-19 at six months.
Cohort enrollment included 164,132 veterans who received the same-day COVID-19 and flu vaccine and 131,839 veterans who received the flu vaccine only between September 3 and December 31, 2024, with follow-up through June 29, 2025.
At six months, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19-associated emergency room visits was 29.3%. The risk per 10,000 people was 44.15 in the COVID-19 vaccinated group and 62.39 in the COVID-19 vaccinated group. The effectiveness of hospitalization was 39.2%, with risks measured at 11.55 in the vaccinated group compared to 19.06 per 10,000 people.
The death effectiveness was 64.0%, with an absolute reduction of 2.2 deaths per 10,000 people, and the risks were 1.25 versus 3.49 per 10,000 people.
A composite of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or death yielded an effectiveness of 28.3% with an absolute reduction of 18.2 per 10,000 people, with risks of 46.04 versus 64.20 per 10,000 people. Subgroup analyzes indicated lower incidence in all age groups, in major coexisting conditions, and in all immunocompetence strata. Efficacy relative to the composite outcome was 37.1% on days 1 to 60, 32.5% on days 61 to 120, and 21.4% on days 121 to 180.
The COVID-19 vaccine has been associated with protecting veterans with reduced risks of serious outcomes, including among the immunocompetent and immunocompromised.
Written for you by our author Justin Jackson, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and edited by Robert Egan, this article is the result of painstaking human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting interests you, consider making a donation (especially monthly). You will get a without advertising account as a thank you.
More information:
Miao Cai et al, 2024-2025 Covid-19 Vaccine Association with Covid-19 Outcomes in US Veterans, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2510226
© 2025 Science X Network
Quote: Veterans Study Finds Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Reduces Hospital Visits, Deaths (October 13, 2025) retrieved October 13, 2025 from
This document is subject to copyright. Except for fair use for private study or research purposes, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
