Question
Will the vaccine stop me catching COVID-19? Or just from getting ill? Or maybe both?
22 December 2020. Related: All topics, COVID-19.
Answer
The vaccine will definitely reduce risk of getting ill, but the answer is “probably both”.
The vaccines are approved because they reduce symptoms of COVID-19.
The first studies didn’t measure whether people caught coronavirus, just whether they had symptoms of COVID-19. However, there is some evidence that the vaccines also protect against infection.
With the mRNA vaccines, most mild symptoms later confirmed as COVID-19 were in people who didn’t get the vaccine. Importantly, nearly all the most serious cases of COVID-19 were also in people who got the placebo (inactive) injections.
Technically, some people might still catch coronavirus and be infectious but without symptoms. This is still an ongoing research question.
Studies with the Moderna and Oxford vaccines include some results showing that the risk of catching coronavirus is also reduced.
This is one of more than 65 questions about COVID vaccines. It was produced by and for people living with HIV.
Q&A on COVID vaccines: are they safe and effective?
https://i-base.info/qa/16330
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