One dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines reduces the chances of someone infected with coronavirus from spreading it to other household members by up to 50 percent, according to a English study published Wednesday.
The Public Health England (PHE) research found that those who became infected three weeks after receiving their first jab were between 38 and 49 percent less likely to pass the virus on to their household contacts than those who were unvaccinated.
"This is terrific news -- we already know vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus," said British Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
"It further reinforces that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and they may prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household," he added.
The study drew data from over 57,000 contacts in 24,000 households in which there was a lab-confirmed case that had received a vaccination, compared with nearly one million contacts of unvaccinated cases.
Previous studies have already shown that being vaccinated reduces the risk of a person developing symptomatic infection in the first place by up to 65 percent, four weeks after one dose.
Households are deemed as "high-risk" settings for transmission, and "similar results could be expected in other settings with similar transmission risks, such as shared accommodations and prisons," said the PHE study.
"Not only do vaccines reduce the severity of illness and prevent hundreds of deaths every day, we now see they also have an additional impact on reducing the chance of passing COVID-19 on to others," said Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE.
Previous PHE studies have estimate that Britain's succesful vaccine rollout had prevented 10,400 deaths in the over-60s by the end of March.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharat Biotech Adds Top Medical Body ICMR As Co-Owner Of Covid Vaccine Patent Covid Vaccinated Pregnant Women At Lower Risk Of Caesarean Births: Study Fact Check: Can Covaxin Lead To Death After 2 Years Of Vaccination? Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Doctors Halt OPD Services Amid Nationwide Strike Over Kolkata Rape Horror CBI Team At Kolkata Hospital For Digital Mapping Of Crime Scene Let's Work Unitedly To Confront Pressing Challenges: PM To Global South Rs 700 Crore, 18,000 Women Workers: Foxconn's Tamil Nadu Housing Unit Global South Facing Challenges Of Food, Energy Security: PM Modi Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.