Important vaccine benefits we have not fully discussed

COVID vaccines have proven to be dramatically more successful Reduce the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.. However, there is uncertainty as to whether vaccinated people who are still infected (perhaps with very mild symptoms or none at all) can infect others with the virus. This spread of silence can complicate efforts to control a pandemic.

In recent months, there has been a great deal of data on the risk of infection after vaccination. These findings have important implications for how quickly pandemics can be controlled and what we say to those who are hesitant to vaccinate.

Vaccine tests are usually designed to determine whether immunization prevents people from getting sick. These are the heading effectiveness numbers. 95 percent Reduction of symptomatological COVID cases of two FDA-approved mRNA-based vaccines. However, this study provides little or no data on whether the vaccine can completely stop the infection. This is the surest way to minimize the spread of the virus.

With that in mind At least one-third Although many COVID infections are completely asymptomatic, they are still potentially contagious, so it is important to know if vaccinated people can become carriers of the virus. However, not all carriers spread the virus. If the carrier has a relatively low viral load, that is, less viral particles are released during breathing or conversation, the risk of infection is significantly reduced. Therefore, one of the indirect benefits of the COVID vaccine may be to reduce the viral load in so-called breakthrough cases or infected vaccinated people.

Today, many healthcare professionals regularly test for COVID, whether or not they have symptoms, so much of the early real-world data on the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing infection is this. It’s from a group. Some studies of fully vaccinated health care workers (health care workers more than two weeks after the second vaccination of the mRNA-based vaccine) found that symptomatic or asymptomatic infections were possible: Has decreased to. 80 to 90 percent, Compared to unvaccinated people.

There is also good news about viral load in breakthrough cases.Israeli researcher Studied Infected vaccinated people. The viral load in these breakthrough cases was about one-third to one-fourth that of unvaccinated infected individuals.British researchers report Similar results. They also found that infected and vaccinated people were more positive for about a week than unvaccinated people.

There is also evidence that infected people with low viral load spread the virus to fewer people. We, India When Spain..This is supported by the laboratory research The nasal samples of infected individuals with low viral load indicate that they are unlikely to contain the infectious virus.

Coronavirus delta variants, which are currently predominant in the United States and many other countries, can induce viral load. 1,000 times higher Higher than the levels normally associated with the ancestral lineage of the virus in early 2020. This high viral load made the delta infection more contagious and resulted in many mild or asymptomatic but more breakthrough cases. However, mRNA-based vaccines still provide strong protection and are effective against symptomatic infections ranging from 80 to 90 percent. And the ability of these vaccines to significantly reduce viral load in breakthrough cases could be a valuable tool in containing the spread of delta mutants.

All of these impressive data should reinforce the belief that the COVID vaccine is very effective in reducing viral infections. This suggests that vaccination of the majority of Americans across the country is our surest bet to return to normal. Eliminating the spread of the virus altogether may be an unattainable goal, but mass vaccination in the United States and around the world leaves COVID to the background of our lives.

To date, many public health messages about vaccination have focused on personal interests, based on the data available from vaccine trials. And the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine in protecting against disease is certainly noteworthy. However, with increasing evidence confirming its effectiveness in reducing infections, it is time to begin emphasizing social benefits and personal responsibilities not to hurt others.

In particular, so many COVID cases are asymptomatic that unvaccinated people are at risk of unknowingly becoming carriers of the virus. In fact, those with the lowest risk of serious illness or death from COVID, the young and healthy, live the most active lives and are in daily contact with many others. Most likely to act as an unconscious carrier of.

So the most important question for those who are hesitant about vaccination is not “what can a vaccine do for you?” The question is, “How many people would be harmed if not vaccinated?”

Early Pandemic, February 2020, International Business meeting It was a big event with about 175 participants in Boston. As of November 1, 2020 Over 300,000 The infection in the United States was caused only at that conference.

We are all connected by a vast and invisible network. “Six Degrees of Separation” does not exaggerate the amazing density of our wide variety of interconnects. If you refuse vaccination and become infected with the coronavirus, the number of people who can inadvertently harm you can be astronomical.

Mitigations such as testing, distance, and masking are incomplete tools to prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccination is the closest thing to this pandemic and certainty. The data are in place and the vaccine is surprisingly effective in reducing infections.

The message to those who have not been vaccinated is: Do not let the virus use you to harm others.

This is an opinion and analysis article.View expressed by Author or multiple authors necessarily Scientific American..