British researchers discovered that the Delta variant of the coronavirus infection can easily be transmitted from vaccinated people to others inside their households, a study released on Thursday said.
The study, which was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London, found that the highly transmissible Delta variant was still spread among the vaccinated population. However, they noted that contacts were less likely to get infected if they themselves were vaccinated against the disease.
Delta Variant Transmissibility
Despite the results, the researchers said that the fact that even vaccinated people can transmit and get infected with the coronavirus did not weaken the argument that inoculation is currently the best way to fight against the pandemic. Vaccines are known to reduce severe illnesses from the coronavirus.
While researchers discovered that vaccinated people were able to get cleared of the virus more quickly, the peak viral load remained comparable to unvaccinated people. "By carrying out repeated and frequent sampling from contacts of COVID-19 cases, we found that vaccinated people can contract and pass on an infection within households, including to vaccinated household members," said the co-lead author of the study, Dr. Anika Singanayagam, Reuters reported.
The study found that vaccinated people will infect their unvaccinated household contacts at a rate of 38% or if they are vaccinated as well, the number drops to 25%. The Lancet Infectious Diseases argued that the research showed just how important vaccines were to curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Medical experts warned that unvaccinated people cannot solely rely on their vaccinated families or friends to keep themselves safe from the virus. Health officials have argued that vaccines were effective in reducing the number of serious coronavirus-related infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
However, it has recently been discovered that over time, vaccinated people begin to have waning immunities against the virus and require booster shots to continue being protected. The need also urges many households to make sure that each member who is eligible for the vaccine to be inoculated as soon as possible, BBC reported.
Coronavirus in the US
The situation comes as health officials in the United States have reported that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have dropped significantly. However, health experts have warned that with cases in the country still relatively high, many children are not eligible for vaccination, and in the coming winter season, people should not be comfortable just yet.
During a White House coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that the United States was now running down the right path. However, the health official warned that people should still be vigilant about the virus.
While coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths surged in the early summer during the time the Delta variant became dominant, the statistics were now going down. Over the last week, the U.S. has recorded an average of 69,011 new daily cases, which is about a 60% drop from the Delta peak that recorded 127,531 in mid-September.
Additionally, the average is found to be well below the all-time peak across the United States, which was at over 251,800 in daily cases in mid-January, CNN reported.
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