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FACT BRIEF

Do people who are vaccinated carry 251 times the load of COVID-19 viruses in their nostrils compared to those who are unvaccinated?

By AP Staff
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NO

An anti-vaccine website falsely claimed a study by Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam made such a finding. But the study’s authors say the website distorted their findings.

The study found vaccinated health care workers with breakthrough infections due to the highly infectious coronavirus delta variant carried 251-times more virus in their nostrils compared to patients infected with earlier strains of the virus in spring 2020.

“The differences in viral load were driven by the ability of the Delta variant to cause higher viral loads; they had nothing to do with the vaccination status of the infected individual,” the lead authors wrote in response to false claims about their study. “Thus the claim that vaccinated individuals carry 251 times the loads of SARS-CoV-2 in their respiratory tract compared to the unvaccinated people is a misrepresentation of the data.”  

See a full discussion of this at The Associated Press
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Our preprint article ‘Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Among Vaccinated Healthcare Workers, Vietnam’
SSRN Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Among Vaccinated Healthcare Workers, Vietnam
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Associated Press
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.