COVID19 Update - Day 275

US Tests: 182,548,742*

US Cases: 15,360,841*

US Deaths: 283,555*

Worldwide Cases: 69,524,946*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,580,727*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Immunity is one thing; transmission is another.  By now, everyone knows that there are multiple #TrumpVirus vaccines about to hit the market, which is undoubtedly a good thing.  And giving people immunity --- even if only temporarily --- is important.

But there's another question which needs to be asked: Can someone who has been vaccinated still transmit the virus?

But while the vaccine has been found to confer immunity on those who take it, it’s still not clear whether the shot stops transmission. Researchers are racing for an answer to the question of whether those who are inoculated are also incapable of spreading COVID-19.

Not all vaccines put a stop to both illness and spread. Some vaccines for respiratory diseases stimulate the body’s immune response but allow the virus to remain in the respiratory system, facilitating transmission.

Specifically, an antibody that exists in the mucus and saliva can fail to be activated even as blood-borne antibodies effectively prevent disease.

“With respiratory illness in particular, transmission is dependent on whats in your nose and nasal pharynx,” Dr. Litjen Tan, chief strategy officer at the Immunization Action Coalition, told TPM. “You can be asymptomatic, but you’re spitting out virus.”

Because so few people have gotten the injections so far, there’s not yet data to measure how effective the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are at curbing spread. More information could reveal the extent to which the vaccines prevent spread, and further studies could reveal how soon after receiving the dual shots people become unable to spread the virus.

Something important to consider.