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Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals have similar viral loads in communities with a high prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant
Preprint
in English
| medRxiv
| ID: ppmedrxiv-21261387
ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant of Concern is highly transmissible and contains mutations that confer partial immune escape. The emergence of Delta in North America caused the first surge in COVID-19 cases after SARS-CoV-2 vaccines became widely available. To determine whether individuals infected despite vaccination might be capable of transmitting SARS-CoV-2, we compared RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) data from 20,431 test-positive anterior nasal swab specimens from fully vaccinated (n = 9,347) or unvaccinated (n=11,084) individuals tested at a single commercial laboratory during the interval 28 June - 1 December 2021 when Delta variants were predominant. We observed no significant effect of vaccine status alone on Ct value, nor when controlling for vaccine product or sex. Testing a subset of low-Ct (<25) samples, we detected infectious virus at similar rates, and at similar titers, in specimens from vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. These data indicate that vaccinated individuals infected with Delta variants are capable of shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 and could play a role in spreading COVID-19.
cc_by_nc
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
medRxiv
Type of study:
Observational study
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document type:
Preprint