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Partially Vaccinated People Half as Likely as Unvaccinated People to Infect Family Members

Even before someone is fully vaccinated against Covid, their likelihood of passing the virus on is far lower

Tara Haelle
Elemental
4 min readJun 30, 2021

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Photo: Steven Cornfield/Unsplash

People not vaccinated against Covid-19 are twice as likely to pass the infection on to others in their household as people who have Covid-19 but have gotten one dose of a vaccine, according to a new study. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine June 23, looked at the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines.

No vaccine can prevent 100% of all infections, so there will always be some “breakthrough cases” in vaccinated people — Covid-19 infections in people who received a Covid vaccine. These infections are more likely in people who aren’t yet fully vaccinated, such as those who have only gotten their first dose of a Covid vaccine or who got their second dose less than two weeks before exposure to the virus.

But even during those vulnerable periods before they have the most protection possible against Covid, partially vaccinated people are still much less likely to transmit the virus to those they live with, researchers found.

What the study found

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Elemental
Elemental

Published in Elemental

Elemental is a former publication from Medium for science-backed health and wellness coverage. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Tara Haelle
Tara Haelle

Written by Tara Haelle

Tara Haelle is a science journalist, public speaker, and author of Vaccination Investigation and The Informed Parent. Follow her at @tarahaelle.

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