The news about coronavirus vaccines and infection continues to improve.
On Wednesday, the New England Journal of Medicine published another study from Israel comparing the outcomes of people who received the Pfizer vaccine with those who did not. It found not only a reduction in hospitalizations, severe illness, and deaths from COVID-19 in those who had been immunized, but also a decline in symptomatic cases. The vaccine was 46% effective against symptomatic cases one week after the first dose was administered and 92% after two doses.
In addition, research from the United Kingdom of healthcare workers also found a drop in asymptomatic cases among those who had received the vaccine.
If coronavirus vaccines are reducing symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, then that likely means they are preventing the virus from gaining a foothold in humans. That’s further evidence that coronavirus vaccines may prevent transmission, meaning that a return to normalcy in the United States could happen sooner.
Two previous studies from Israel also found that the Pfizer vaccine was effective at preventing both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.
OPTIMISM ABOUT RETURN TO NORMAL GROWS FOLLOWING VACCINE NEWS
“I think those studies support what we thought would happen,” Nicole Baumgarth, a professor at the Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of California, Davis, said regarding the first two Israeli studies. “It’s great news.”
But don’t throw away the mask or stop social distancing just yet. Baumgarth added that she thought the U.S. would be back to normal around Thanksgiving.
To prevent transmission, it will be key to vaccinate those aged 40 and younger. They tend to be more active than the elderly, so when they have cases of COVID-19 with few symptoms or are asymptomatic, they are more likely to spread. At present, most states are targeting vaccines to those aged 65 and older.
“I think there will be spectrums of normal,” said Susan Hassig, an epidemiology professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Hassig said that if more vaccines such as the one from Johnson & Johnson become available, restrictions such as restaurant capacity would be eased. However, mask-wearing may continue for a while.
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“I suspect a blanket ‘no need to wear masks’ will be one of the last things to happen,” she said.
