Vaccines cut household transmission by up to half: UK study

LONDON • Covid-19 vaccines deployed in England can cut transmission of the coronavirus in households by up to half, Public Health England (PHE) data showed yesterday, in addition to the protection the shots offer against symptomatic infection.

The research offers insight into one of the big unknowns over Covid-19 vaccinations - the extent to which they prevent transmission - and could strengthen the case for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans to end England's lockdown in June.

Health Minister Matt Hancock said: "We already know vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus."

New research showed people infected with the coronavirus three weeks after receiving one dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine were between 38 per cent and 49 per cent less likely to pass it on to household contacts compared with those unvaccinated.

The shots also stop a vaccinated person developing a symptomatic infection, reducing the risk by around 60 per cent to 65 per cent from four weeks after one dose of either vaccine.

"While these findings are very encouraging, even if you have been vaccinated, it is really important that you continue to act like you have the virus," said Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE.

The study included over 57,000 contacts from 24,000 households where there was a lab-confirmed case who had received a vaccination. They were compared with nearly one million contacts of unvaccinated cases.

REUTERS