The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is releasing a new study that has some good news for Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “Our data from the CDC today suggest that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick.”
“And that it’s not just in the clinical trials, but it’s also in real-world data,” she added.
Watch the video below:
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky: “Our data from the CDC today suggest that vaccinated people do not carry the virus.” pic.twitter.com/9W1SHecSEm
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021
Scientists for the CDC conducted a study of 3,950 people who had received two doses of the vaccine from December through March. It found that two doses of the vaccine are 90% effective in preventing people from being infected with the virus.
Additionally, it found that one shot is 80% effective at preventing infection.
The participants of the study were given the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines which require two doses.
As Time Magazine reports, “Most of the positive tests occurred in people who had no symptoms at the time they were tested, and did not even know they were infected.”
However, the study did not examine whether the vaccines provided protection against variants of the coronavirus — which is why health experts encourage Americans to continue wearing masks even after being fully vaccinated.
The study comes as President Joe Biden is encouraging states to reinstitute mask-wearing mandates as the country is facing a 19% increase in new cases recorded per day compared to the prior two weeks.
But, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is arguing that Americans who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks.
“You want people to get the vaccine, give them a reward instead of telling them the nanny-state’s going to be there for three more years, and you gotta wear a mask forever,” he said during a Senate hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier this month.
He also argued that wearing masks after being vaccinated is “just theater.”
