Overview
- Researchers using electronic health records from 1,039,659 patients in the VA St. Louis system reported the findings in a JAMA Internal Medicine paper released in mid-June.
- The analysis compared 349,085 veterans who received the 2024–2025 COVID vaccine plus a flu shot with 690,574 who received only a flu shot and followed them for eight months.
- Vaccination was associated with a roughly 38 percent relative reduction in COVID-19–associated major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), with the study estimating a fall from about 5 to 3 events per 10,000 in absolute terms.
- The protective effect was strongest in adults 75 and older and in people with underlying conditions, and the authors reported a larger drop in all-cause MACE that may reflect prevention of unrecognized SARS‑CoV‑2 infections; however, the study is observational and limited to a predominantly older, male VA population.
- With seasonal COVID vaccine uptake low, the results suggest a targeted benefit for high-risk patients, but questions remain about generalizing to broader groups and about whether randomized trials would confirm the association.