- People should continue to wear masks after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.
- He said there was still not enough data to be sure that the vaccines available prevent transmission.
- People who received their vaccines in tests are being monitored for this.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci On thursday he reiterated that people should continue to wear masks after receiving an injection of COVID-19, saying that it was not yet certain whether available vaccines would prevent people from spreading the coronavirus.
“Even if vaccinated, you can still transmit the virus to vulnerable people,” Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, said in a tweet. “Masks are vital until we learn more and significantly reduce infections.”
Clinical trials show that the two COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S. – one from Moderna and one from Pfizer and BioNTech – are good at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with full protection two weeks after receiving the two doses. But we still don’t know how long it takes to protect a vaccine or how well they prevent people from spreading the virus.
“Follow-up data is being collected from vaccine testing volunteers now,” Fauci said. “If there are significantly less asymptomatic infections and a lower level of virus in the noses of the vaccine recipients, this would suggest a decrease in the ability to transmit the virus after vaccination.”
Fauci was referring to the two vaccines authorized in the United States, but a recent study under review by The Lancet, a leading medical journal, suggested that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford could reduce transmission in people without symptoms. . The study was small, however, and more research is needed.
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 injection, which could be given the green light by the Food and Drug Administration this month, was good at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in studies. But again, it is unclear whether it protects against transmitting the virus to others.
Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said that people should wear two masks to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19.
The United States recorded more than 26.6 million cases of coronavirus and more than 485,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
So far, about 35.2 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, with more than 6.9 million people fully immunized with two doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.