Study Found 2025-26 COVID Vaccine Reduced Risk of Hospitalization

Despite the vaccine's efficacy, uptake remained very low for the 2025-26 variant.

June 24, 2026

Key Highlights

The 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by approximately 55%.
Recipients of the updated vaccine are about 50% less likely to visit emergency or urgent care for COVID-19.
Despite existing immunity, vaccination remains crucial as serious illness rates, especially among seniors, continue to be a concern.
Studies show vaccine protection wanes over time, underscoring the importance of booster doses.
Vaccine uptake remains low, highlighting the need for increased public health efforts to improve coverage.

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A new study found 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.” CIDRAP has the news.

These vaccines add protection for a population with “significant existing immunity from previous infections and vaccinations.” The study found that those 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.”

Researchers analyzed data from more than 111,000 adults in seven states from September through December 2025. COVID-related serious illness remains a serious issue even though hospitalization rates were down during the first part of the 2025-26 respiratory season, and the highest rates were reported among adults age 65 and older.

The findings of this study align with a separate study published last week in JAMA Network Open, which suggested vaccination reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID infection that required a healthcare visit by 59%. That study did find that protection waned over time. Additionally, both studies found vaccine uptake was low.