This is when you can kiss your loved ones again Brighton News

This is thanks to a new study which suggests that a single stroke can halve the transmission of the virus.

Dr Mike Tildesley, of the University of Warwick and a member of the Pandemic Influenza Scientific Group (Spi-M) modeling group, suggested that the decision on whether social distancing would be necessary before the summer months could be a political decision.

However, he said vaccines helped keep most people from getting seriously ill and he hoped hugs would be back on the agenda by the date the government has set for the limits to be lifted. legal on social contacts.

(PA graphics)

This is a new study from Public Health England (PHE) which shows that a single dose of Pfizer / BioNTech or Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines can halve the transmission of the virus.

The groundbreaking findings offer further hope that the pandemic can be brought under control as those who are vaccinated are much less likely to pass the virus on to others.

The study found that people who received a single dose of a vaccine and were infected at least three weeks later were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus to people living in their homes, compared to to those who were not vaccinated. .

Speaking on Times Radio, Dr Tildesley was asked at what stage people might be close to another person, such as a family member, if both had been vaccinated.

He said: “I think it’s really difficult because of course in a way it becomes more of a kind of political decision rather than an epidemiological decision because we were told that on June 21 all these limits Legal on contacts are going to be removed, but it’s still unclear exactly what that means.

“Whether that means that on that date, some social distancing will be in place or if all of these will be removed and you can go and kiss your loved ones …

Sharon Duncalf plays cards with her mother Olive outside her room at Gracewell of Church Crookham nursing home near Fleet, Hampshire (Andrew Matthews / PA)

“I think the bottom line is that if you both get vaccinated, of course it reduces the risk of anyone getting seriously ill and I hope that as we get closer to that June date we will be in. a position where we cannot. it is enough to see our loved ones, but we can also hug our loved ones because it has been a very long time since we were able to do so.

He said there was a need to constantly monitor the situation, including what happens when people are allowed to mix inside again.

From May 17, up to two households, or six individuals from other households (rule of six), should be able to meet indoors.

The government has also pledged to update advice on social distancing and social embrace in the third stage of the roadmap, scheduled for May 17.

Dr Tildesley said: ‘Obviously we have to monitor the data as we get to the main relaxation, when you are allowed to enter people’s households, it’s really important that we monitor this data and make sure that we don’t. not getting a resurgence at this point. ”

The PHE study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, included more than 57,000 people living in 24,000 households who were contacts of a vaccinated person.

They have been compared to nearly a million contacts of people who have not received a vaccine.

How the Oxford vaccine works (PA Graphics)

Contacts were defined as secondary cases of coronavirus if they tested positive two to 14 days after the household’s initial case.

Other studies have already shown that both vaccines are very effective in preventing people from getting sick and ending up in the hospital.

Experts will now assess whether two doses of the vaccine can further reduce transmission of the virus, and more work is being done on transmission in the general population.

Health and Social Affairs Secretary Matt Hancock praised the study, saying: “This is great news, we already know that vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive of actual data showing that vaccines save lives. ‘they also reduce the transmission of this deadly virus.

“This further reinforces the fact that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic because they protect you and they can prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household.

“I urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible and to make sure you receive your second dose for the strongest protection possible.”

Dr Tildesley told BBC Breakfast he believed PHE’s transmission results were “significant”.

He said the study offered “further evidence to suggest that we need as many people to be vaccinated as possible, even if you’re not at a serious risk of developing severe symptoms, because that way we get Much higher levels of protection in the population, protecting the most vulnerable and hopefully further reducing the number of people who will fall seriously ill and die sadly from the disease ”.

The effects of vaccines on reducing transmission will likely be even greater after two doses, although more evidence is needed, he added.

He said the UK was in a good position and that the fact that ‘vaccines seem to be working hopefully puts us in a good position to pursue the roadmap and full easing by June 21 “.

Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the Covid-19 Clinical Information Network, described the BSP’s results as “very, very reassuring and” definitely better than what many of us expected just a few months ago. ”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today show: “It shows that the immune system is doing a lot more than we really expected.”

He added that with two doses the result would be “almost certainly even better.”

Dr Mary Ramsay, PHE immunization manager, said the vaccines were “vital in helping us get back to a normal way of life.”

(PA graphics)

She added: “Not only do vaccines reduce the severity of the disease and prevent hundreds of deaths every day, but we are now seeing that they also have an additional impact on reducing the risk of transmitting Covid-19 to others. . ”

The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are said to have saved 10,400 lives among those over 60 at the end of March.

Data from last week’s National Covid-19 Infection Survey conducted by the University of Oxford and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that vaccines have the potential to reduce transmission.

A single dose of Pfizer BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccines reduced coronavirus cases by two-thirds and was 74% effective against symptomatic infection, according to actual data from the UK.

After two doses of Pfizer, there was a 70% reduction in all cases and a 90% drop in symptomatic cases, these are the people most likely to pass the coronavirus to others.