COVID infection less likely if all family members are completely vaccinated: Research

A team of researchers discovered that as the number of vaccinated family members increased, non-vaccinated individuals had a 45% to 97% lower risk of infection and hospitalisation. This is demonstrated in a statewide study conducted by Umea University in Sweden. Peter Nordström, an Umea University professor of geriatric medicine stated that the findings strongly imply that vaccination is crucial not just for individual protection, but also for lowering the transmission within families.

Vaccines have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19, according to a large body of research. However, little is known regarding the impact of vaccination on virus transmission in high-risk situations like households. In a new study, Umea University researchers discovered that the number of immune individuals in each family had a dose-response relationship with the probability of illness and hospitalisation among non-immune family members. 

The research involves over 1.8 million people from over 800,000 families

According to Science, the research involves over 1.8 million people from over 800,000 families and is based on a registry. The researchers used registration data from the Swedish Public Health Department, the National Board of Health and Welfare, and Statistics Sweden, the government agency in charge of statistics data.

The researchers calculated the link between the number of family members vaccinated against COVID-19 and the probability of infection and hospitalisation in non-immune people in their study. Age, socioeconomic position, family clustering and various diagnoses previously identified as COVID-19 risk factors in the Swedish population were all taken into account by the researchers. Vaccination appears to minimise not only the individual's chance of infection but also the risk of transfer, according to the study.

'This minimises the risk of new harmful variants emerging and taking over'

Marcel Ballin, a co-author of the study and a doctorate student in geriatric medicine at Umea University said that this minimises not only the chance of more people becoming seriously ill but also the risk of new harmful variants emerging and taking over. He concluded by saying, "consequently, ensuring that many people are vaccinated has implications on a local, national, and global scale."

(With Inputs from PTI)

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