20 November 2020

Sorry Dear, But I'm Sterile

One thing about the vaccines that has caused me some puzzlement: is it the case that being vaccinated, successfully, also mean that one never becomes infectious after exposure? Yes, we are told that the two vaccines about to be EUA are 95% effective in preventing illness in the person. But does that mean that the person never sheds virus to others?

That is the other question. Well, a recent piece from Bloomberg provides some answers. Sort of. And it is what I expected. The question boils down to: do these vaccines provide sterilizing immunity?
Immunity due to neutralizing antibodies is also known as sterilizing immunity, as the immune system eliminates the infectious particle before any infection takes place.
So, no infection in the person, ergo no shedding of infecting virus.

Rather than lots of quoting from the Bloomberg piece, just have a look.

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