New Covid transmission research published

Chair of the Centre Trustees, Professor Ajit Lalvani is Chair of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London. He has been co-leading a team studying Covid-19 infections at home; accumulating scientific knowledge about how the disease is passed on.

Important findings highlight how transmissible Covid is in domestic situations, even when people are double vaccinated. The research concludes double-jabbed people, although much less likely to become seriously ill, are still catching Covid and passing it on to those they live with.

The scientific research published in The Lancet is a longitudinal, cohort study and highlights that individuals who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been vaccinated.

Even if they have no or few symptoms, the chance of them transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated housemates is about two in five, or 38%. This drops to one in four, or 25%, if housemates are also fully vaccinated.

The detailed research work shows why getting even more people vaccinated is important because unvaccinated people cannot rely on those around them being vaccinated to remove their risk of becoming infected.

Professor Ajit Lalvani said, “The ongoing transmission we are seeing between vaccinated people makes it essential for unvaccinated people to get vaccinated to protect themselves from acquiring infection and severe Covid-19, especially as more people will be spending time inside in close proximity during the winter months.

“We found that susceptibility to infection increased already within a few months after the second vaccine dose – so those eligible for booster shots should get them promptly.”

See the BBC press coverage.