Fully vaccinated people are three times less likely to test positive for Covid-19 than those who are not vaccinated, according to the latest results published Wednesday from a large study in England. The results of this study, conducted by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI on more than 98,000 volunteers between June 24 and July 12, also show that fully vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus.
“These results confirm our previous data, which shows that two doses of vaccine offer good protection against infection,” said Professor Paul Elliott, director of the study. However, “there is always the risk of infection, because no vaccine is 100% effective,” he continued, calling for “caution.” The report also says that the number of infections has quadrupled from the last report published in late May, with one in 160 people infected, but the progression appears to be slowing down.
These figures do not take into account the lifting of most of the restrictions that took effect on July 19 in England, despite the explosion in the number of cases attributed to the Delta variant, which is more contagious. The latest estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), covering the week ending July 24, concluded that one in 65 people in England was infected. Across the UK, where 73% of adults are fully vaccinated, the epidemic has claimed nearly 130,000 lives.