155008
The Weekly Sceptic Live The Weekly Sceptic Live The Weekly Sceptic Live
  • Log in
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Elderly Vaccination Saved Lives in East Asia

by Noah Carl
31 January 2023 1:00 PM

In my post arguing that elderly vaccination saved lives, I presented the following chart as evidence that vaccine effectiveness has been overestimated. It shows a large spike in excess mortality in South Korea, coinciding with the country’s Omicron wave.

The red line indicates the date by which 90% of over 80s were double-vaccinated.

The spike occurred after 90% of over 80s had been double-vaccinated, and was comparable to spikes that occurred in other countries before anyone was vaccinated. This casts doubt on claims of 90% vaccine effectiveness against death.

On the other hand, if we compare South Korea to an East Asian country with a much lower vaccination rate among the elderly, we find evidence that the vaccines were effective against death.

Like South Korea, Hong Kong managed to contain the virus for the first two years of the pandemic. Then in February of 2022, both countries were hit by the Omicron variant and the virus began spreading rapidly. This makes the pair ideal for testing claims about vaccine effectiveness.  

According to the Hong Kong government, only around 25% of over 80s had been double-vaccinated by 31st December, 2021. By 4th March, it was still only 30%. This means that when Omicron hit, 90% of South Koreans over 80 were double-vaccinated, compared to less than 30% of HongKongers over 80.

Which, in turn, almost certainly explains why Hong Kong saw a much greater spike in excess mortality than South Korea, as shown in the left-hand chart below.

Hong Kong saw a greater spike in excess mortality than both South Korea and Singapore.

One might object that Hong Kong is a densely-populated city state, or that Hongkongers are different from Koreans. Yet if we compare Hong Kong to Singapore – which is also a densely-populated city state, inhabited mainly by the ethnic Chinese – we see the very same pattern.

As shown in the right-hand chart above, Hong Kong saw a much greater spike in excess mortality than Singapore. And as in South Korea, 90% of over 80s in Singapore were double-vaccinated when Omicron hit.

At the time, Hong Kong’s overall vaccination was fairly high – 64%, about the same as Israel’s. Which indicates that elderly vaccination, rather than vaccination in general, is what matters – consistent with the argument in my earlier post.

The evidence from Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore suggests that vaccine effectiveness against death is lower than 90% but still greater than zero. Vaccinating the elderly in these countries saved lives too. 

Tags: Excess MortalityFocused protectionVaccines

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Elite Billionaire Foundations Fund Wave of Green Climate Propaganda Flooding into British Schools

Next Post

Popularity of St. Jacinda’s Party Soars After Her Resignation

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

49 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

 

DONATE

PODCAST

Nick Dixon and Toby Young Talk About the Attack on Kellie-Jay Keen by Trans Rights Activists, the BBC’s Perverse Insistence on Calling a Rapist “Her” and the Brutal Cancellation of Alfie Brown

by Will Jones
28 March 2023
2

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editors Picks

Brussels Cancels Looming Ban on Internal Combustion Engine Cars – U.K. Government “Prepared to Follow Suit”

29 March 2023
by Will Jones

COVID-19 Not Responsible for “Explosion” in Heart Deaths, Major Autopsy Study Shows. “Must Be the Vaccine,” Says Top Heart Doctor

29 March 2023
by Will Jones

The Narrative in Retreat

29 March 2023
by Ramesh Thakur

The Great Food Reset Has Begun

28 March 2023
by Will Jones

News Round-Up

29 March 2023
by Will Jones

News Round-Up

44

Brussels Cancels Looming Ban on Internal Combustion Engine Cars – U.K. Government “Prepared to Follow Suit”

47

Majority of Public Unhappy with NHS for First Time, Survey Finds

32

The Narrative in Retreat

33

COVID-19 Not Responsible for “Explosion” in Heart Deaths, Major Autopsy Study Shows. “Must Be the Vaccine,” Says Top Heart Doctor

11

Net Zero is Coming Apart Before Our Very Eyes

30 March 2023
by Chris Morrison

COVID-19 Not Responsible for “Explosion” in Heart Deaths, Major Autopsy Study Shows. “Must Be the Vaccine,” Says Top Heart Doctor

29 March 2023
by Will Jones

Findings From a New Faculty Free Speech Survey

29 March 2023
by Noah Carl

In Defence of Andrew Bridgen’s Speech to Parliament on the Risks vs Benefits of Covid Vaccination

28 March 2023
by Norman Fenton, Clare Craig, Martin Neil, Jonathan Engler and Mr Law

The Dumb Chain of Events that Brought Face Mask Tyranny to the West

28 March 2023
by Eugyppius

POSTS BY DATE

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Please note: To be able to comment on our articles you'll need to be a registered donor

Already have an account?
Please click here to login Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment