Coronavirus update: Vaccination alone will not end Covid-19 pandemic, says Lancet study

Even as countries strive hard to vaccinate their people with the Coronavirus vaccine, a study conducted by the Lancet Infectious Disease Journal has found that vaccination alone will not be able to contain the spread of the disease. As per the study, countries should also aim at relaxing the control measures gradually and ensuring higher vaccine uptake in order to minimise the Coronavirus future infections. The study found that preliminary data suggest that the vaccine does offer a level of protection but the exact level of protection from the vaccine remains unclear, The Indian Express reported.

The research found that vaccinating a huge proportion of the population alone and getting rid of all restrictions immediately might lead to subsequent waves of Coronavirus with a considerable number of deaths. The study found that vaccinating adults might substantially reduce the R number of the disease but cannot bring the R number below 1 which is needed to put an end to the pandemic. In medical science parlance, the R number indicates the prevalence of the infection of the disease. For instance, if the R number of a disease is 5 then it signifies that an infected individual is capable of infecting 5 other people with the disease. For an infection to die its natural death, the R number should be below 1.

Concluding its finding, the study said that even in the most optimistic scenario, vaccination alone won’t be able to bring the R number below 1 and the future waves of Coronavirus will largely depend on the timeframe through which countries gradually ease the restrictions to ensure less frequency of the disease.

The study which was primarily conducted keeping the UK Covid-19 scenario in mind also did not deal with the question of new variants and their impact on the spread of the disease. The study also did not take into account the issue of waned immunity which might be reported in vaccinated individuals after the passage of a few months.