People vaccinated and revaccinated against Covid-19, even if they become infected as often happens with variants of the Omicron family, are less contagious to others. In other words, in addition to protecting against severe disease, vaccines also have a certain effect in containing viral circulation. In a nutshell, this is the conclusion of a group of scientists from the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, authors of an article published in ‘Nature Reviews Microbiology’.
In the key passage of the analysis we read that, “between unvaccinated, fully vaccinated or boosterized patients, no significant differences were found in the amount of viral RNA” recoverable after infection with Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants of Sars-CoV -2. But for the infected “the infectious titers”, i.e. capable of transmitting Covid, were lower even “after a single booster vaccine dose”. Taken together, the studies examined by the Swiss researchers indicate that “triple vaccination reduces the infectious viral load”, while not varying “the period of time during which the virus can be isolated” from infected Omicron.
“Even if the” anti-Covid “vaccines currently used are still based on the Spike protein of the ancestral” Wuhan “virus and mainly stimulate a systemic, rather than a mucosal, immune response – the authors highlight – effects on the viral load have been” in any case “observed , on the spread and transmission of the infectious virus”.