Except this subsequently turned out to be false:
Can we say with any degree of certainty that vaccinated people are unlikely to spread COVID to unvaccinated individuals?
The emerging data confirms what many of us thought would be the case—that not only do the vaccines stop symptomatic COVID, but they also make it highly unlikely that someone can even be infected at all.
I think the preponderance of the evidence supports the fact that vaccinated individuals are not able to spread the virus.
As of summer of 2022, we now know that vaccinated people can and do get Covid-19 and this is common.
The hypothesis is that vaccinated people will have a less severe form of the disease and this will lead to less chance of spreading. But this remains a guess at this point and, obviously, with nearly everyone having had Covid-19 in the U.S., the hypothesis that vaccination reduces spread seems unlikely. It is possible, for example, that persons with little or no symptoms due to vaccination are still spreading Covid-19 but are unaware that they have Covid. Thus, another hypothesis might be that since vaccination does not prevent getting Covid, it could lead to further spread. But does it matter? Pandemics end through immunity – either acquired, vaccinated, or both and/or the virus mutates to a less virulent form. It seems this is how this pandemic has reached an end as well.
