Unvaccinated Patients With COVID-19 Eight Times More Likely to Need Admission to ICU: MoPH

MoPH Qatar

Analysis of COVID-19 patients admitted to Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) since 15 December 2021 shows that unvaccinated patients are eight times more likely to need admission to Intensive Care Units (ICU) due to severe Covid-19 infection than those who are fully vaccinated. 

The analysis also showed that partially vaccinated patients - those who only received one dose or received their second dose more than six months ago and no booster dose – had some degree of protection, but significantly less than fully vaccinated patients. Partially vaccinated patients were three times less likely than unvaccinated patients to be admitted to ICU, but two and a half times more likely to be admitted than fully vaccinated patients. 

Dr. Ahmed Al Mohammed, Acting Chairman of HMC's Intensive Care Units, said the review of ICU data confirms what his clinical teams witness on a daily basis. “In our intensive care units at HMC we treat the most severely ill patients, some of which require mechanical ventilation to support their breathing. For myself and my team it is heartbreaking to see people fighting for their lives and to know that they could have avoided this with one simple action – getting vaccinated. Please, if you are not yet vaccinated, act now to protect yourself.”

Qatar’s population has responded very positively to the roll out of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program, and more than 5.8 million doses, including over 800,000 booster doses, have been safely administered.