The researchers compared SARS-CoV-2 viral dynamics among individuals infected with various variants, including the Alpha and Delta variants, and individuals who were vaccinated versus those who were unvaccinated. To determine the validity of these hypotheses, Kissler and his team collected and analyzed 19,941 SARS-CoV-2 viral samples from 173 individuals obtained as part of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) occupational health program between November 28, 2020, and August 11, 2021. Prior to this study, some researchers speculated that vaccinated individuals produce similar amounts of virus as unvaccinated individuals, and that viral production may be similar across SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Delta variant, but little data existed to support these hypotheses. “The study helps us to understand how breakthrough infections compare to non-breakthrough infections and how virus production compares in people who are infected with different variants of this virus.”
#WHO ARE YOU SCHOOL 2015 SEQUEL FULL#
“Our work provides the most detailed information to date about how viral concentrations change in the body across the full duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Stephen Kissler, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and co-author of the study.
The study was published online Decemin the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers also determined that the Delta variant’s infectiousness is likely not due to high virus production in people who are infected, because it appears that virus production is similar across different SARS-CoV-2 variants.
For immediate release: Wednesday, December 1, 2021īoston, MA – People who are vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 but get breakthrough infections may be less likely to spread the virus because they shed it for a shorter period than unvaccinated people who are infected, according a new study led by Harvard T.H.