The Claim:
Did the CDC just admit that vaccines are useless at preventing transmission?
The Facts:
The CDC recently updated its guidelines to include that “vaccination status is no longer used to inform source control, screening testing, or post-exposure recommendations.” Those who think this statement means that vaccines are useless at preventing transmission are incorrect.
This study illustrates that even when infected with COVID, those who are fully vaccinated were contagious for about half the time and infected much fewer people (almost a quarter fewer) than those who were partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. The COVID vaccine does not completely eliminate the risk of coming down with COVID, but it still significantly decreases the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
So while people can and do experience breakthrough infection and can still transmit COVID during that time, vaccines are a very important part of controlling the spread of COVID, along with masking, testing, isolating, etc.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.
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