Vaccinestudy showslower infectionrisk

A new study has shown COVID vaccines provide some protection to anyone living with a vaccinated healthcare worker.

A Scottish study of healthcare workers and their households including data from 11,000 NHS Tayside healthcare workers - showed their household’s risk of being infected by COVID lowered by 30 per cent after they had received their first vaccine dose.

A local lung expert told the PA that while results were“very encouraging” there was still a risk.

The research led by Public Health Scotland and the University of Glasgow involved over 300,000 people and ran from December 8, 2020, and March 3, 2021.

The study found the transmission rate for COVID-19 to people that live with healthcare workers was at least 30 per cent lower when the worker had been vaccinated“mostly with a single dose”.

Due to the fact members of the household could be infected elsewhere it was suspected this was an underestimate of the“true”effect of vaccination on transmission.

The risk was found to be even lower at least 14 days after healthcare workers had received a second dose of the COVID vaccine.

The transmission rate to household members was then found to be at least 54 per cent lower than household members where healthcare workers had not been vaccinated.

Respiratory consultant Prof James Chalmers, British Lung Foundation chair of respiratory research, said:“The results are very encouraging. We know that the vaccines reduce the risk of getting COVID and the risk of carrying COVID and so we fully expect it will reduce the risk of passing it on, and this study seems to confirm that.

“The headline figure of 30 per cent reduction in transmission is probably a major underestimate of the true effect of vaccination.

“Even if someone in your household has been vaccinated, and you haven’t, you can catch SARS-CoV-2 from someone else, at your own work, or in other settings.

“So based on previous research you would estimate only about half of the infections in this group actually come from the healthcare worker and therefore could have been prevented by vaccination.

“So the true reduction in transmission after a vaccine could easily be as high as 60 per cent. We won’t know for sure until more data accumulates.”

But Prof Chalmers warned against complacency.

He said:“Whatever the true figure, it’s really important to know that it’s not 100 per cent - so even if you have had the vaccine you can potentially still pass it on.

“That’s why everyone still needs to be responsible and stick to the rules even if you have had a vaccine.”