Passengers queue up to pass through the north security checkpoint Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in the main terminal of Denver International Airport in Denver.
Highlights
- A couple of factors are at play when it comes to vaccinated people getting Covid positive.
- Omicron is more likely to infect people, even if it doesn't make them very sick.
Covid-19 cases are yet again on a steep rise around the globe, ever since the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has crept up. The infection is not just getting detected in the unvaccinated but is also affecting those inoculated with the vaccine. In India, so far only two doses have been administered to the eligible population, but despite a booster dose in countries like the US and UK, Covid cases are surging.
Louis Mansky, a virus researcher at the University of Minnesota spoke on the matter to news agency AP. People might mistakenly think the COVID-19 vaccines will completely block infection, but the shots are mainly designed to prevent severe illness, he said. "And the vaccines are still doing their job on that front, particularly for people who've gotten boosters", he added.
Reasons for vaccinated people getting Covid-19
A couple of factors are at play when it comes to vaccinated people getting Covid positive, starting with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant. Omicron is more likely to infect people, even if it doesn't make them very sick, and its surge coincided with the holiday travel season in many places.
Read all Omicron-related news updates HERE
Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still offer strong protection against serious illness from omicron. While those initial doses aren't very good at blocking omicron infection, boosters — particularly with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines — rev up levels of the antibodies to help fend off infection.
Omicron replicating faster than previous variants
The new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is replicating faster than all variants that surfaced before. And if infected people have high virus loads, there's a greater likelihood they'll pass it on to others, especially the unvaccinated. Vaccinated people who get the virus are more likely to have mild symptoms, if any, since the shots trigger multiple defenses in your immune system, making it much more difficult for omicron to slip past them all.
Advice for staying safe hasn't changed
Doctors advise to wear masks indoors, avoid crowds and get vaccinated and boosted. Even though the shots won't always keep you from catching the virus, they'll make it much more likely you stay alive and out of the hospital.
(With AP Inputs)
