Authored by: Venkat Rao
According to a recent report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy CIDRAP), a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology conclude COVID-19 vaccination protected people of all body sizes from hospitalization and death.
However, people with a low or high body mass index (BMI) were at a greater risk. Study involved over 9 million adults in primary care treatment centers from England, with an average age of 52 years and average BMI of 26.7, generally considered overweight. Of the 9,171,524 patients in the study, 566,461 tested positive for COVID-19, of which 32,808 were hospitalized and 14,389 died. Only 19.2 percent of the study population was unvaccinated. Vaccine protection was significantly different among patient study population with odds ratio for protection for those underweight at 0.51, healthy weight at 0.34, and overweight 0.32, respectively. Notably, the risk for severe disease at low and high BMI was significantly higher than those in the healthy BMI range of 23, whereas very high BMI of 44 was associated with three times the risk of hospitalization as compared to a healthy BMI.
Investigators concluded with a positive note that the vaccine afforded comparably equal protection for both overweight and underweight patients contracted with COVID-19.
For more information on the study: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/07/covid-vaccines-prevented-poor-outcomes-people-all-sizes