The scientist from the World Health Organization (WHO), dr. Soumya Swaminathan, expressed skepticism about what the coronavirus vaccine does exactly in terms of transmissibility while speaking during a WHO press release on Monday.
A reporter asked if someone who traveled overseas and received the vaccine would pose a risk to the community if they visited a place where there is limited distribution in the community.
‘I think what we are learning now and still waiting for more results from vaccination trials is to really understand whether these vaccines, in addition to preventing symptomatic diseases and serious illnesses and deaths, will also reduce infections or prevent people from become infected with the virus, prevent them from transmitting it or transmitting it to other people, ”Swaminathan said.
“I do not believe that we have evidence on any of the vaccines to trust that it will prevent people from getting the infection and therefore be able to pass it on,” said the WHO’s lead scientist. @doktersoumya pic.twitter.com/QdTvzj7Nyd
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“At the moment, I do not believe we have the evidence on any of the vaccines to trust that it will prevent people from getting the infection and passing it on,” Swaminathan said. “I think until we know we know more, we should assume that vaccinated people should take the same precautions until there is some degree of herd immunity in the population.”
Dr Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO’s Health Emergency Program, expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the main aim of the vaccine so far has been to prevent widespread death.
“I think it’s important that we also reflect on the main objective of the vaccine, and the first implementation is to prevent serious diseases, prevent deaths, protect frontline health workers and protect the most vulnerable people in our society.”
Ryan noted that when it comes to portability, there just is not enough information to make a definite decision. (RELATED: POLL: Despite Willingness to Get the Coronavirus Vaccine, the Majority of Americans Are Concerned About Side Effects)
‘We just do not know enough about the length of protection and other things to be able to predict it absolutely. I think we need to be able to control the virus well. ”
“A decision to eliminate or eradicate the virus requires a much higher degree of efficiency and effectiveness in a vaccination program and all the other controls,” Ryan said. ‘The likely scenario is that the virus … will become another endemic virus that will remain a threat, but a low threat due to the global vaccination program. It remains to be seen how well the vaccines are absorbed. ”
“The existence of a vaccine even at high efficacy is no guarantee of eliminating or eradicating an infectious disease,” he added, reiterating that the focus of the vaccine is to prevent deaths.
There is still a lot of uncertainty about what the vaccine will achieve, and the Mayo Clinic notes that using a vaccine can create an antibody response in your body if you become infected and ‘help people protect you’.
Pfizer and Moderna both used FDA approvals for emergencies after trials showed that their vaccines had 95% and 94.1%, respectively, to prevent new infections in the vaccines. According to The New York Times (NYT), vaccination of Moderna has also been shown to prevent severe coronavirus symptoms. However, it is unclear whether the vaccines have any effect on transmissibility.
Both trials only tracked how many vaccinated participants became ill with COVID-19. The trials did not follow up on whether anyone could be vaccinated, become infected, develop symptoms and eventually transmit it to someone else without knowing it, according to the NYT.
“Many people think that once they are vaccinated, they no longer have to wear masks,” Michal Tal, an immunologist at Stanford University, told the NYT. “It will be really critical for them to know if they should continue to wear masks, because it can still be contagious.”