Being vaccinated does not prevent transmitting the Covid-19 virus

AFP, published on Wednesday July 28, 2021 at 7:41 p.m.

The Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer assured Wednesday that a vaccinated person “did not risk” “to” contaminate “others. This statement is false: data from vaccination campaigns have shown that vaccines against Covid-19 largely limit the risk of contamination and transmission, but without being able to completely eliminate it. Invited on Franceinfo Wednesday morning to detail the health protocol planned for the start of the school year, the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer announced that in the event of contamination in the secondary, unvaccinated students would be “ousted” and would follow distance education while the vaccinated students would remain face-to-face.

“It is a very rational loqique is the message that we pass from the beginning: when you are vaccinated you do not risk infecting others whereas if you are not vaccinated you run this risk”, developed the Minister.

Several studies (1, 2, 3) on data analyzing vaccination campaigns, particularly in the United Kingdom and Israel, have confirmed that Covid vaccines have been shown to be effective against severe forms and symptomatic forms and had also made it possible to greatly reduce the risks of contamination – without however completely eliminating them. It is therefore theoretically possible to be contaminated by Sars-CoV2 while being vaccinated, even if the risk of being contaminated is reduced by vaccination.

If you are vaccinated but catch the Covid, the risk of developing a symptomatic form is greatly reduced. Like most vaccines already in existence, vaccines against Covid are not sterilizing, that is to say that contamination by the virus is possible but the vaccine prevents the development of the disease.

However, health authorities and vaccine manufacturers remain very cautious on the issue of transmission and contamination and point out that no vaccine is 100% effective. This caution has led several governments to insist on the importance, for the vaccinated people, of continuing to respect the barrier gestures and to wear the mask.

“Covid vaccines protect you against the disease by reducing the risk of catching it and having a severe form. These vaccines are very effective, but no vaccine protects 100%, and this effectiveness may vary from person to person.“, recalls the French Ministry of Health on the website” My Covid advice “.

“Even when you are vaccinated, there is still a risk of catching Covid if you are exposed to the virus (even if the disease will most often be less serious), and of transmitting it subsequently (even if your contagiousness will also be reduced. ) “, adds the ministry.

The situation became even more complex with the appearance of the Delta variant, considered extremely contagious. Its degree of contagiousness raises fears of a drop in the level of protection of existing vaccines and a rebound in the circulation and transmission of the virus, among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Contacted by AFP, the cabinet of Jean-Michel Blanquer ensures that the minister does not “did not imply in his words that there was zero risk of infecting others “. The “spoke about the fact that unvaccinated contact cases students had to isolate themselves as quickly as possible while awaiting their test, while vaccinated students could stay on the school premises until they have their test result“, we added. “We must remember the purpose of all this: to encourage vaccination. The more everyone is vaccinated, the less the virus will be able to spread. It is our compass”.

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