According to a new study, fully vaccinated people who test positive for the Delta variant may be less infectious than those who are not vaccinated and have COVID-19.
Early research led by the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands found that fully vaccinated people who caught the most infectious Delta variant eliminated the virus more quickly than some unvaccinated people who tested positive for the initial COVID strain.
The study, which involved 24,706 health workers, examined the results of 161 fully vaccinated workers who tested positive for COVID-19 from April to July this year.
Those who test positive after being completely vaccinated are known as “advanced cases”.
All the advanced cases included in the study had been vaccinated between January and May of this year and most received the shot of Moderna or J&J. Several received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Their results were compared with unvaccinated people who tested positive between April and December 2020, before the Delta variant became prominent.
The researchers say the variant was found in most cases, but the infections were mild and did not require hospitalization.
The study found that people fully vaccinated with the Delta variant were less infectious than unvaccinated people who tested positive for the less contagious initial COVID strain.
The researchers warned, however, that the infectious virus was found in 68% of vaccinated people and that levels decreased in the first three days of illness.
“Despite the reduced viral viability, the infectivity of people with advanced infections should not be neglected,” the researchers found.
The study concluded that while advanced cases are rare, those fully vaccinated individuals were less contagious.
The findings are only preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed. The study was published publicly on medRxiv, a site that includes preliminary scientific reports.
As the Delta variant continues to spread, the White House said Tuesday it was moving “aggressively” to launch reinforcements this fall for Americans, though it has not yet received permission from the administration. of Food and Medicines to give everyone third doses.
“We are acting aggressively to stay ahead of the virus and we are planning to make booster shots from the week of September 20 pending the FDA and ACIP [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] approval, ”said Jeff Zients, coordinator of President Biden’s COVID-19 response, in a media briefing.
“We hope the rule is simple. Get the booster shot eight months after getting your second shot, ”said Zients.
To date, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have only given the green light to booster vaccines for immunocompromised people who received the Modern or Pfizer vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that its own studies had shown that a single-dose vaccine increased antibody levels.