Anyone who gets vaccinated against the corona virus is not only in the event of one breakthrough infection well protected against serious illnesses. The vaccinated are also less contagious than the unvaccinated. Unlike the Delta variant, however, three vaccine doses are required for the Omicron variant to increase the amount infectious virus particle to control effectively.

This is reported by Swiss researchers led by Isabella Eckerle and Benjamin Meyer from the University of Geneva in the journal “Nature Medicine”. In a specialist article, they present the results of their rapid study, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the pandemic, for the first time.

Omikron: Study shows that vaccinations not only protect individuals

The study refers to the Omicron subvariant BA.1not to the subvariant BA.2, which now dominates in Germany.

“Our results underscore that positive effect of vaccinations beyond individual protection against serious illnesses,” the researchers write. First, the “Spiegel” reported on the study.

Researchers have been examining people infected with corona since 2020

Between April 2020 and February 2022, the scientists took swabs from the nasal mucosa in a total of 565 people infected with corona within the first five days after the onset of symptoms.

The investigation also covers almost the entire previous course of the pandemic ab: Infections with the originally circulating variant as well as with the delta and omicron variants were recorded. Some of the subjects were not vaccinated, others were vaccinated twice or boosted. Almost all vaccinated had received an RNA vaccine.

Corona infection: Booster vaccination ensures a massively lower viral load

The scientists then determined the so-called Ct value, which indicates how much genetic makeup of the virus is present in a sample. It also determines the amount of infectious virus particles in a sample using cell culture experiments. This is a better indicator of a sick person’s contagiousness, as the researchers’ studies confirmed.

Analysis of the data showed that Doubly vaccinated with a delta infection had significantly fewer infectious particles in the upper respiratory tract than unvaccinated people, namely almost a fifth. In addition, the vaccinated could fight the virus of the investigation faster.

In omicron breakthrough infections, the amount of infectious virus particles was as high after double vaccination as in unvaccinated subjects. Only a booster vaccination pushes the value down to around a fifth.

Researchers find first out about omicron variant

Another result: During the omicron wave, the researchers found significantly higher amounts of infectious particles in the vaccinated subjects than during the delta wave – despite the higher contagiousness the omicron variant. They conclude that omicron-infected people are not more contagious because they excrete more viruses. The entry mechanism of the virus into the cell may be different.

The researchers point out that it is not known from what amount of detected virus particles an infected person is contagious. to die fluctuations The amount of virus could also have been influenced by the respective quality of the smear or by the fact that the samples were not taken from all subjects at the same time of infection. (dpa/fmg)

This article first appeared on morgenpost.de

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