Medical Xpress Veterans Research and Education Foundation of St. Louis reports that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine was associated with lower risks of COVID-19–related emergency visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in a national cohort of U.S. veterans. The pandemic is not over, but conditions have shifted greatly. Since the initial outbreak spread around the world, SARS-CoV-2 has accumulated mutations that alter its severity, while the population has gained immunity from repeated infections and vaccinations have reduced severity.
Public uncertainty about the continued value of getting the annual COVID-19 vaccination has risen steadily. By late December 2024, adult COVID-19 vaccination fell to approximately 21%, while influenza vaccination remained at 42%.