United Press International (April 28) – “We capture the most complete, high-resolution, quantitative picture of how [the virus] replicates and sheds in people during natural infection,” Christopher B. Brooke, co-author of the Nature Communications study, said in a press release.
“There is increased transmissibility of emerging … variants of concern in the confines of the household where there is prolonged close contact between household members and index cases,” wrote the researchers, which included Rebecca L. Smith of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Full vaccination reduced susceptibility and infectiousness, but more so for Alpha than Delta and Omicron [and] the changes in estimated vaccine effectiveness underscore the challenges of developing effective vaccines concomitant with viral evolution,” they said.