Vaccinated and unvaccinated people spread the coronavirus delta mutation in precisely the same way. Oxford scientists said this in a newly published study. They also concluded that collective immunity is unattainable because of the delta mutation. Until now, experts have argued that only collective immunity, which is achieved after community vaccination, will stop covid.
“People who catch the Indian mutation after two doses of the vaccine are very likely to have the same symptoms and spread the disease as people without the vaccine,” the Oxford researchers say.
It means that people who have contracted the delta mutation spread the same dose of the virus when they cough or sneeze, regardless of whether or not they have the vaccine. Research by British scientists has suggested that collective immunity is unattainable due to the delta mutation because vaccination does not sufficiently prevent the transmission of the virus. Collective immunity is essential to stop a covid pandemic, experts say.
Importantly, however, people vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are 82 percent less likely to contract covid than people without the vaccine. People with the AstraZeneca vaccine are 67 percent less likely to be infected.
Thus, the researchers emphasize that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent covid and helps prevent hospitalization or death.