TUESDAY, April 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Mass COVID-19 vaccinations may help combat the pandemic by protecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed 223 communities in Israel and found that higher vaccination rates among adults reduced rates of infection among children younger than 16, The Washington Post reported. The authors of the study — which has not been peer-reviewed — could not say whether the vaccines actually reduced transmission of the coronavirus.
Israel launched one of the world’s most aggressive vaccination campaigns last December and has immunized more than half of its adult population. Most have received the Pfizer vaccine, The Post reported. A previous study showed that the Pfizer vaccine reduces the viral load in people who contracted COVID-19 shortly after receiving the first dose.
“Reduced infection and viral load suggest reduced transmission,” and the high effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine “suggests a potential for a population-level effect, critical for disease eradication,” the authors of the new study wrote, The Post reported.
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