COVID vaccines slash risk of spreading Omicron — and so does prior infection
Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty
The findings are good news, says Megan Steain, a virologist at the University of Sydney, Australia. They show that the more exposure people have to the virus, whether through vaccines, boosters or infections, the “higher the wall of immunity”, she says. “If we can keep high levels of booster vaccinations up, then we can decrease how infectious people are when they’re sick,” says Steain.
The team found that among individuals with COVID-19, those who received at least one vaccine shot were 24% less likely to infect close contacts— in this case cellmates — compared with unvaccinated prisoners.
Prisoners were isolated after they tested positive, but close contacts had usually been exposed for around two days before the COVID-positive individual was isolated, says Lo. Unvaccinated people had a 36% chance of transmitting the virus to close contacts but prisoners who were vaccinated and had had a previous infection still had a 20% risk of spreading the infection.Steain says the findings accord with what researchers know about the virus so far.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Omicron-targeting COVID boosters expected this week, but experts are worried there may be low uptakeThe Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize new COVID-19 booster shots this week that target the latest versions of the omicron variant but...
Read more »
Omicron COVID-19 booster shots are coming: Will they be a game-changer?The next generation of COVID-19 booster shots — tailored specifically to combat the super-infectious family of Omicron subvariants — could roll out early next month.
Read more »
Pediatric cases rise as Biden administration prepares for rollout of new COVID vaccine boostersExperts predict the FDA could authorize a new COVID-19 booster shot that includes a new formula aimed at targeting the latest omicron variants as early as this week.
Read more »