Auditor Rob Sand is calling for Iowans eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. His office sent out a release stating that adults who refuse the vaccine are costing the U.S. “billions of dollars,” citing a study by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“Any hospitalizations due to a serious illness is difficult for the patient and their families,” Sand said. “It’s especially disheartening when the hospitalization is almost entirely preventable.”
Data from Aug. 26 shows just 51.9 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated.
Analysis by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF supposedly shows 98.3 percent of the 185,000 adults hospitalized with COVID in June and July were unvaccinated. Of those, they say 113,000 were preventable hospitalizations.
The group estimated a cost of $20,000 per hospitalization and now blame the unvaccinated for an estimated $2.3 billion in hospitalizations in June and July.
“We are all paying for these preventable hospitalizations, whether it be in the form of premiums to private insurers or costs to taxpayer-funded public programs,” Sand said. “Please don’t add to others’ expenses: get the vaccine. Most importantly, it saves lives, but it also saves money.”
