COVID vaccination linked to lower household spread

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-16 01:00

International

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People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to transmit the virus on to others, a new US study has found. Researchers tracked more than 700 household contacts of infected participants using daily nasal swabs and found contacts exposed to a recently vaccinated person had nearly half the infection risk compared with contacts of unvaccinated people. The authors say the findings suggest recent COVID vaccination may still help reduce transmission, even in populations with widespread prior infection and immunity.

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Research JAMA, Web page

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases - US

Funder: The RIGHT study was supported by contract 75D30123C17674 from the CDC (Vanderbilt University Medical Center). The analysis was supported in part by an appointment to the Research Participation Program at the CDC administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the US Department of Energy and CDC.

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