(London) The latest results released on Wednesday from a large study in England show that fully vaccinated people are three times less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those who have not been vaccinated.
The results of this study, conducted by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI on more than 98,000 volunteers between June 24 and July 12, also showed that fully vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus.
“These results confirm our previous data, which shows that two doses of the vaccine provide good protection against infection,” said study leader Professor Paul Elliott. He continued that, however, “there is always a risk of infection, because there is no vaccine that is 100% effective,” calling for “caution.”
The report also says the number of infections has quadrupled from the last report released in late May, with 1 in 160 people infected, but progress appears to be slowing.
These numbers do not take into account the lifting of most restrictions that took effect on July 19 in England, despite the explosion in the number of cases attributed to the more contagious delta variant.
The latest estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which covers the week ending 24 July, found that one in 65 people in England is infected.
Across the UK, where 73% of adults are fully immunized, the pandemic has claimed nearly 130,000 lives.