Doctor reflects on 1 year mark of Covid vaccines and impact against pandemic

FOX 2 - On the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 vaccine, members of the medical community are weighing in on its impact in the fight against a global pandemic.

"It’s been very clear to the doctors who treat Covid patients that this vaccine has made a tremendous impact," said Dr. Matthew Sims, Beaumont Health.

That impact is detailed in several medical studies that shine a light on the effectiveness of Covid vaccines.

"The largest one is really looking at the whole time the vaccine has been available and is estimating that it saved over a million lives in the last year and prevented 10 million hospitalizations," said Sims, the director of infectious disease research.

Many doctors say they are not surprised by the findings, because afters the vaccines became available - they began to notice a trend.

"The majority of the patients that we were seeing in the hospital were unvaccinated," Sims said. "This vaccine saves lives.

"Between a half million and a million people saved over the space of the last year, by the vaccine."

Doctors say there’s also an abundance of evidence that the vaccines are safe.

"They studied 11 million people and the answer was no," he said.

The medical community hopes those with vaccine hesitancy see the clear picture.

"I don't know what more proof people want," Sims said. "It is safe and it works."