UK: Vaccinated people 'may spread COVID-19', says England's deputy chief medical officer

England's deputy chief medical officer on January 24 warned that the vaccinated citizens must adhere to the social distancing protocols as they can still spread the coronavirus. “Getting your COVID-19 vaccination does not mean you can liberate yourself from lockdown or other restrictions,” medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said in a live address streamed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Vaccinated people must stick to the lockdown rules, he asserted, highlighting the importance of continuing to follow the guidance despite getting the jabs. Van-Tam delivered remarks on the first anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern since the COVID-19 hit. 

“No vaccine has ever been 100% effective so no-one will have 100% protection from the virus,” England's deputy chief medical officer said. He added, “The way to reduce everyone’s risk is to break the chains of transmission and really push down the number of cases.” Furthermore, van-Tam added that the vaccine is responsible for making antibodies and stimulating T-cells. “Your body’s response, the immune response, is only fully trained up around 2 or 3 weeks after you have each of your 2 jabs,” he said. The medical officer explained that the lasting protection comes from the second dose, and hence it was integral to follow the health safety norms despite getting vaccinated. 

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5.8 million vaccinated with 2 doses

“We do not yet know the impact of the vaccine on the transmission of the virus. So even after you have had both doses of the vaccine you may still give COVID to someone else and the chains of transmission will then continue,” England’s chief medical officer warned. He cited the increasing hospitalisations and deaths across the UK due to the new UK mutant of coronavirus, as he reminded youngsters that a quarter of hospital admissions for COVID-19 are in people under the age of 55. On January 23, the UK has administered nearly  478,248 vaccines, thus far, 5.8 million have already been administered with two doses. 

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