Study: Vaccinated people can carry as much virus as others

• A recent study revealed that vaccinated people who still get infected carry the same amount of the coronavirus as those who were unvaccinated.
• The study looked into the outbreak in Provincetown, Cape Cod, a county with the highest vaccination rate in Massachusetts.
• Breakthrough cases are now expected amid the delta variant, but the COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective at preventing serious illness and death.

Vaccinated people who got breakthrough COVID-19 infections carried the same amount of the coronavirus as those who were unvaccinated, according to a study of an outbreak in Massachusetts.

The research reportedly prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend wearing masks indoors again, especially in delta variant hot spots, regardless of vaccination status.

The previous belief was that vaccinated people were unlikely to pass the virus to others, but the study showed that it is not the case with the delta variant.

More than 900 cases were reported in the seaside tourist spot of Provincetown, Cape Cod — a county with Massachusetts’ highest vaccination rate. Around three-quarters of the infected were fully vaccinated. Among those fully vaccinated, about 80% experienced mild symptoms such as cough, headache, sore throat, muscle aches, and fever.

Massachusetts had lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in late May, ahead of the summer season, just like many states. This week, however, Provincetown had to reinstate an indoor mask requirement for everyone.

Travis Dagenais, a 35-year-old Boston resident, was among the breakthrough cases. He shared, “The dominant public messaging has been that the vaccine means a return to normal. Unfortunately, I’ve now learned it’s a few steps toward normal, not the zero-to-sixty that we seem to have undertaken.”

He said he had spent long nights partying in packed Provincetown nightclubs.

Still, he shared that the vaccine spared him of the worst symptoms. He only experienced fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue, and has already recovered.

The highly infectious delta variant is believed to be more contagious than the common cold, flu, smallpox, and the Ebola virus, and it is as infectious as chickenpox.

The outbreak in Provincetown makes it harder for health experts to appeal to everyone to receive the vaccine.

But while breakthrough cases are expected, the COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective at preventing serious illness and death.

According to the CDC report which studied about 470 COVID-19 cases in Provincetown, festivities in the area included densely packed indoor and outdoor holiday events at public places and rental homes.

Tests ran on some of those individuals revealed roughly the same level of virus in fully vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen of the University of Saskatchewan pointed out that the amount of virus an infected person is carrying does not indicate whether they are actually transmitting the virus to other people.

The CDC stated that they are still looking into more data about breakthrough cases to provide more informed decisions.

Source: AP