Breakthrough COVID-19 Cases Less Likely to Transmit the Virus to Others, NBA Study Reveals

A new study conducted in partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), found that breakthrough cases of COVID-19 are less likely to spread the virus to other people. It shows that vaccine reduces transmission in breakthrough infections compared to unvaccinated people.

USA Today reported that the new research, which involved NBA players, their families, and staff, also showed that vaccinated people who later on got infected with COVID-19 had cleared the virus from their systems on average of 5 1/2 days, two days earlier than unvaccinated people that took 7 1/2 days.

NBA Study on Breakthrough Cases

The news outlet said that the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine took 19,941 viral samples from 173 NBA players, staff, and their families between November 2020 and August 2021.

The team assessed the viral dynamics of those infected with earlier variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the course of illness in vaccinated and unvaccinated NBA players. Infectious disease fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the paper's co-author Stephen Kissler said that most participants were tested every day or every other day.

By doing so, they were able to uncover what being infectious looks like in the very early stages because symptoms only typically appear when they are at their peak.

In a similar report by the Business Insider, the study revealed that vaccinated people are 36% less likely to infect others than unvaccinated people. Researchers noted no difference between the type of vaccines participants have received, whether it was the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech or the one-dose viral vector vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. Moderna vaccine was not included in the assessment due to a sal sample size.

Kissler added that the study provides the most detailed information to date how viral concentrations change in the body during the entire duration of the infection.

ALSO READ: Breakthrough Infections: What You Should Know When You Get Infected Even After Getting Vaccinated

Vaccinated and Unvaccinated People Produce the Same Amount of Viral Load

According to Harvard's press release, the study also determined the validity of whether vaccinated and unvaccinated people produce similar amounts of viral load and that viral production may be the same across the variants, such as the Delta variant. They compared the viral samples from the Alpha variant to the Delta variants and vaccinated versus the unvaccinated people.

They found that viral production and duration of acute infection were all the same for all variants. But breakthrough cases in vaccinated people cleared faster than those unvaccinated people. It shows that breakthrough cases may be as infectious as unvaccinated people in the early stage of the infection. It suggests that those with breakthrough cases are infectious for a shorter period, making them less likely to transmit the virus to other people.

The team said that the study contributes to understanding the viral dynamics in COVID-19 in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people and helps experts understand the basis of high transmissibility of the Delta variant and decreased transmissibility of breakthrough cases. Lastly, the study shows the value of the collaboration between the public health sector and other industries.

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