Fully Vaccinated can Still Spread the COVID-19 Virus at Home

Even fully vaccinated people are at the chance of getting COVID-19 and passing on the deadly disease to people at home, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Though COVID-19 vaccines prevent serious illness and deaths, they are less effective at spreading infections since the emergence of the more infectious Delta variant. Various studies have also shown the waning protection of these vaccines, pressing the need for boosters.

‘Although vaccinated people can clear the infection more quickly, their peak viral load remains similar to that seen in unvaccinated people, so they can still pass on the COVID-19 virus in household settings.’

As households are the site of most SARS-CoV-2 transmission globally, the new study included 440 households in London and Bolton doing PCR Covid tests between September 2020 and September 2021.

The results revealed that even with no or few symptoms, the chance of transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated housemates is about two in five or 38 percent. This drops to one in four, or 25 percent if housemates are also fully vaccinated.

"This finding indicates that breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people can efficiently transmit infection in the household setting," said corresponding author Prof Ajit Lalvani, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK.

Fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections seem to have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings, including fully vaccinated contacts. Host-virus interactions early in infection may shape the entire viral trajectory.

Further, the study showed that the susceptibility to infection increases already within a few months after the second vaccine dose, pressing the need for booster shots.

This study also suggests that continued public health and social measures to curb transmissions such as mask-wearing, social distancing, and testing remain important, even in vaccinated individuals.



Source: Medindia