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One of the unanswered questions about the various coronavirus vaccines is whether they can help prevent you from not only getting sick, but also from transmitting the virus to others. A new study conducted in Israel has had some very encouraging results on this topic.
The various vaccines currently in use around the world were approved after studies showed that they were effective in preventing people seriously ill or dying from Covid-19 and – more importantly – safe. But at the time, there was insufficient data to say conclusively whether or not vaccines managed to reduce transmission of the virus, especially considering the concern that asymptomatic carriers are still contagious.
According to an article by The Times of Israel, the country’s largest test lab, which handles more than 10,000 Covid-19 tests per day, is reporting that its data showed “positive test results from patients 60 years or older had up to 60 percent less viral load on the swab than the 40 -59-year-old group, starting in mid-January, when most of Israel’s population over 60 had already been vaccinated with at least one dose ”.
Teacher Yaniv Erlich, the head of the laboratory that worked on the study, told the Times that before January 15, the two age cohorts had “only insignificant differences” and, after that date, the viral load started to drop for the group over 60 years old.
“We see the beginning of December and the end of December [data], but the viral load between 60 or more has not changed, ”said Erlich. “And we saw the same thing when we checked in in early January. But suddenly, during the last two weeks of January, when many Israelis or more than 60 had finished vaccination, viral loads for that age group dropped. “
In other words, if someone who was vaccinated contracts Covid-19, these data seem to indicate that he will have less of the virus present in his nose and throat, the main ways of transmitting the coronavirus to others.
The study is more relevant to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, because this is the version that most Israelis received, but last week, researchers working on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine released a study with some hopeful signs that their vaccine may help reduce transmission. good.
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