COVID-19: Fully vaccinated people at 60% lower risk of catching virus, finds British study

An ongoing survey of the population in England found that people who were fully vaccinated had approximately one-third chance of testing positive for COVID-19 than those who were not. Based on 98,233 swabs taken between June 24 and July 12, scientists at Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI released their latest findings from a long-running study.

These studies found a prevalence of coronavirus in 1 in 160 people who were unvaccinated and a prevalence rate of 0.40 percent in those who had received the full dose of the vaccine.  People who have been immunized twice may have a lower risk of spreading the virus than those who haven't been at all. After the government lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in England on July 19, officials and scientists in the United Kingdom urged caution.

Precautions essential, as no vaccine is "100% effective"

Infections among fully vaccinated people are not as rare as previously believed, according to a leaked US government document published last week. A professor at Imperial's School of Public Health and the program's director said the results "confirm our previous data showing that both doses of a vaccine offer good protection against getting infected."

"However, we can also see that there is still a risk of infection, as no vaccine is 100% effective, and we know that some double-vaccinated people can still become ill from the virus. So even with the easing of restrictions, we should still act with caution to help protect one another and curb the rate of infections, added the professor.

A large proportion of adults in the UK are still susceptible to COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated against it. Approximately 80% of infections occur in people aged 16–24, most of whom are either unvaccinated or have not yet received both vaccinations, although 'breakthrough' infections can occur among fully vaccinated individuals as well as those who have already recovered.

Britain's health ministry has seen a decline in daily COVID-19 cases since the rules were relaxed, but population surveys indicate they may still be increasing, albeit more slowly. They predicted a surge in new infections. After July 12, a study by Imperial-Ipsos found that the number of cases had risen more slowly than in the previous month.