School of Education, University of California, Irvine, 3200 Education Building, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
Infection. 2022 Oct;50(5):1255-1266. doi: 10.1007/s15010-022-01802-1. Epub 2022 Mar 22.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began proliferating widely throughout the world in late 2019/early 2020, creating a global pandemic and health crisis. Although vaccines became available to the public approximately 1 year after the onset of the pandemic, there still remains much hesitancy surrounding vaccination. One key concern comes from reports of breakthrough infections among the vaccinated that show comparable levels of peak viral load as the unvaccinated, calling into question the ability of vaccines to prevent transmission. Therefore young, healthy individuals who are at low risk of serious complications themselves have little incentive to receive a vaccine that they are not convinced will protect others around them. To address this important concern, this study aimed to evaluate the extent to which vaccination rates are associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission among the unvaccinated population.
An observational study was conducted in the United States of America throughout the months of June through September, 2021. Vaccination rate and incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were obtained for each state, along with a number of important control variables. Panel data regression was used to predict incidence among the unvaccinated based on each state's vaccination rate.
States with a higher proportion of fully vaccinated individuals reported fewer new cases among the remaining unvaccinated population.
These data add to accumulating evidence that COVID-19 vaccinations can indeed slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and are an important tool in society's arsenal to put this pandemic behind us.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）于 2019 年末/2020 年初开始在全球范围内广泛传播，造成全球大流行和卫生危机。尽管大约在大流行开始一年后公众可获得疫苗，但疫苗接种仍存在很大的犹豫。一个关键的担忧来自于接种疫苗者中的突破性感染的报告，这些报告显示接种疫苗者的病毒载量峰值与未接种疫苗者相当，这让人质疑疫苗预防传播的能力。因此，本身患严重并发症风险低的年轻健康个体几乎没有动力接种他们不相信会保护周围其他人的疫苗。为了解决这一重要问题，本研究旨在评估疫苗接种率与未接种疫苗人群中 SARS-CoV-2 传播减少的程度之间的关系。
在美国，这项观察性研究于 2021 年 6 月至 9 月进行。每个州都获得了疫苗接种率和 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的发病率，以及一些重要的控制变量。面板数据回归用于根据每个州的疫苗接种率预测未接种疫苗人群中的发病率。
完全接种疫苗的人比例较高的州报告称，剩余未接种疫苗人群中的新发病例较少。
这些数据增加了越来越多的证据表明 COVID-19 疫苗确实可以减缓 SARS-CoV-2 的传播，是社会应对这一大流行病的重要工具。
