Coronavirus: Can vaccinated people still spread COVID-19? Explained

Vaccination is the key factor that doctors and medical experts have been long stressing on to minimize COVID-19 risk, especially at a critical timeline like this when we are also facing added worries of an incoming third potential wave of coronavirus.

COVID-19 vaccination can also be beneficial in lowering down severity and mortality risk associated with the illness.

Elsewhere, vaccination has also been considered a pass for people to resume normal 'mask-free' lives back- roam freely without being so fearful of catching the disease.

But the question remains, what happens to the transmission rate?

If you have been vaccinated against COVID-19, could you still spread the infection to other non-vaccinated people?

Scientifically, all approved COVID-19 vaccines right now have been well-studied and carry good odds of protection, meaning they may strengthen the body's immune response against the virus, and lessen the complication risks, including hospitalization.

Going by the same principles, vaccines should also, similarly, work in reducing transmission rates- the manner in which the infection spreads from one person to another. However, there’s little proven evidence to support the claim yet.

READ MORE: Covaxin vs Covishield, differences explained and compared

This may hint that while vaccines are effective against symptomatic illness and poor outcomes, transmission risk still remains worrisome. Till the time we do not gather enough evidence, it would be safe to presume that vaccination does not automatically cut down transmission as well, and thus, a vaccinated person may be at risk of spreading coronavirus to others.

Even for the little evidence that we have that vaccines may reduce transmission to an extent (and not fully), a lot depends on how well the vaccine works to block the infection.

READ: Things you can safely do after getting your COVID-19 vaccine

Different vaccines work differently. Some, for example, have been proven to minimize moderate to severe coronavirus infections (thus, making people who do get breakthrough infection only get mild COVID-19), while some, work to block infections in the entirety. Therefore, a lot of the risk factors, whether or not you get COVID-19 or happen to transmit the infection onto others also depend on the vaccine you have, and credibly it works, and real-life data to support the same.

That being said, some experts also believe that COVID-19 transmission post-vaccination also depends on the asymptomatic spread- which many vaccines haven't factored in yet.

In respect to how the SARS-COV-2 virus spreads, the asymptomatic transmission of the virus makes matters get trickier. Not only does it remain to be a relatively new virus, COVID-19 also poses particular challenges because the infection can be spread via both symptomatic, as well as asymptomatic carriers. This means that a person, who doesn't exhibit symptoms and does not undergo testing, maybe silently spreading the disease onto others. This is a scenario that can very well occur with vaccinated beneficiaries as well.

Clinical studies conducted over the past year have highlighted that a majority of COVID infections were caused by people who were asymptomatic, or had minor, barely noticeable symptoms, i.e., who weren't suspected COVID patients and may not have been diagnosed as well.

This can very well be the case with some vaccinated beneficiaries, who may contract COVID-19, get no symptoms, and yet spread the infection onto others without knowledge.

Poor contact tracing, lack of awareness also make matters tough.

The second wave of coronavirus in many countries has been fueled by a rising surge of variants of concerns, which are not just super infectious and spread easily but also have the ability to surpass antibodies.

READ: From higher viral load to severity, here's how the mutant virus is changing COVID symptoms

This is also another potential scenario wherein vaccinated people may spread the virus to others. Upon infection, while people may be less likely to fall seriously sick, or get fewer symptoms, the mutants' easy transmissibility can increase chances of infection for those at risk.

Anybody who hasn't been able to get vaccinated right now, or may not be eligible for vaccination is at the highest risk of catching the illness and suffering from poorer outcomes.

This means that people who have medical conditions, chronic or poor immunity or illness which prohibits them from vaccination, children below the age of 18 and the ones who are not willingly vaccinated all assume equal risks of contracting the infection.

Vaccination is a silver bullet in our fight against breaking down the pandemic. However, it's not the perfect cure. Remember that vaccines just prevent infection possibilities, upto an extent and not do away with the risks entirely. Thus, following COVID appropriate measures are still important, before and after you get your vaccine dose.

Only when vaccines help us get to the herd immunity stage- wherein the majority of communities are inoculated and well-protected would we be able to lower down our guards. Until then, measures would still need to be followed and masks still need to be worn.