The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines greatly reduce the risk of being infected with the disease, a new report finds.
People who were partially or fully immunized with the two-dose jab were up to 91 percent less likely to be contract the illness, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found.
What’s more, vaccinated participants were less likely to develop symptoms, test positive for more than one week or have high levels of the virus in their noses.
It comes as the U.S. sees plunging vaccination rates amid President Joe Biden’s push to have 70 percent of American adults with at least their first COVID-19 shot by Independence Day.
A new CDC study found that fully vaccinated participants’ risk of COVID-19 infection was reduced by 91% and partially vaccinated participants’ risk by 81%
People who received both doses of the jab were also less likely to develop symptoms or test positive for more than a week. Pictured: A nurse gives Malikai McPherson, 16, a shot of the Pfizer vaccine in Melbourne, Florida, May 17
‘COVID-19 vaccines are a critical tool in overcoming this pandemic,’ said CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.
‘Findings from the extended timeframe of this study add to accumulating evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective and should prevent most infections – but that fully vaccinated people who still get COVID-19 are likely to have milder, shorter illness and appear to be less likely to spread the virus to others.
‘These benefits are another important reason to get vaccinated.’
For the study, published on pre-print site medRxiv.org, the team looked at 3,975 participants who underwent weekly coronavirus testing between December 13, 2020 and April 10, 2021.
Over the 17-week study period, 204 volunteers, or 5.1 percent, tested positive for COVID-19.
Of that group, just five people were fully vaccinated, meaning 14 days or longer had gone by since their second dose.
Another 11 were partially vaccinated, either more than 14 days post-dose one or 13 days or less post-dose two.
By far, the largest percentage – 76.4 percent or 156 people – were unvaccinated.
The team determined that fully vaccinated participants’ risk of infection was reduced by 91 percent and partially vaccinated participants’ risk by 81 percent.
These estimates included the risk of both symptomatic and asymptomatic coronavirus infections.
Researchers also looked at symptoms to determine whether COVID-19 illness was milder in the vaccinated volunteers.
They found that participants who had had one or both doses of the immunization were sick for an average of six fewer days – 10 compared to 16.
Less than 500,000 adults are now being vaccinated each day, down from a peak of 3.4 million in April
Plunging vaccination rates threatens President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% of adults with at least one vaccine dose by July 4
Vaccinated adults were also 60 percent less likely to develop symptoms, such as fever or cough, compared to unvaccinated people who caught the virus.
Results also showed that vaccinated people who caught COVID-19 may be less likely to spread it to others.
Adults who were partially or fully immunized were 66 percent less likely to test positive more than one after their initial test and had 40 percent less detectable virus in their noses than unvaccinated adults.
Less than 500,000 people are being vaccinated each day, down from a peak of 3.4 million in April, according to data from the CDC and Bloomberg.
This threatens Biden’s goal of 70 percent of U.S. adults with their first shot by July 4.
In order to reach this threshold, about 16 million more adults will need to have their first shot in the next 28 days.
However, only 2.4 million adults who got their first shots last week, The Washington Post reported. Officials calculate that number needs to be 4.2 million per week to meet Biden’s July 4 goal.
