Coronavirus: Fully vaccinated people can still spread COVID-19 at home

Although the number of COVID-19 cases have dropped down considerably, one must continue to take all precautionary measures and not let their guard down. Since the possibility of COVID-19 spread has remained higher than any other viral infection, one must stay vigilant and must get themselves vaccinated.

Recent reports suggest that COVID-19 may spread indoors, even when people involved may be fully vaccinated.

Read more: Coronavirus: What makes vaccinated people more prone to breakthrough COVID-19 infections?

Being vigilant and getting yourself vaccinated are two of the most important ways to prevent the spread of the deadly SARs-COV-2 virus. Clinical trials have shown that all available vaccines provide certain level of protection of against the virus. However, it has also been found that vaccinated individuals may still contract the virus and fall ill.

Nonetheless, vaccine help avoid serious illness and complications, ensuring lower risk of hospitalization and death.

A breakthrough infection occurs when a person contracts a virus even after being fully vaccinated. He or she either remains asymptomatic or develops mild to moderate symptoms. However, in certain cases fully vaccinated people may succumb to the virus, but very rarely.

According to a study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Friday, even if you are fully vaccinated, chances are that you can still catch Covid and pass on the deadly disease to people at home.

Households are the site of most SARS-CoV-2 transmission globally. The study, which focused on densely sampled household contacts exposed to the delta variant, found that even with no or few symptoms, the chance of transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated housemates is about two in five, or 38 per cent.

This drops to one in four, or 25 per cent, if housemates are also fully vaccinated.

"This finding indicates that breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people can efficiently transmit infection in the household setting," said corresponding author Prof Ajit Lalvani, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK.

The study included 440 households in London and Bolton doing PCR Covid tests between September 2020 and September 2021.

The results reveal that even after two doses of Covid vaccines people can appear to be just as infectious. In other words, although vaccinated people can clear the infection more quickly, their peak viral load -- when people are most infectious -- remains similar to that seen in unvaccinated people, meaning they can still readily pass on the virus in household settings.

While Covid vaccines do prevent serious Covid illness and deaths, they are less effective at spreading infections, particularly since the emergence of the more infectious Delta variant.

Various studies have also shown the waning protection of these vaccines, effectively pressing the need for boosters.

Currently, while some countries have started administering vaccine boosters among immunocompromised people, countries like India are still under talks to initiate the same.

Continued public health and social measures to curb transmission -- such as mask wearing, social distancing, and testing -- thus remain important, even in vaccinated individuals, the study suggested.

(With inputs from IANS)