Thread by @awong37

"Hi Alex. If vaccinated folks can transmit #COVID19 like unvaccinated folks, why get vaccinated? Negative testing is good enough!"

Fully vaxxed persons transmit #COVID19 at FAR LOWER LEVELS than unvaxxed persons. Rapid antigen testing has limitations.

🧵 below to explain

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If you're fully vaccinated, your chances of getting #COVID19 infection are MUCH lower, so your chances of transmitting are ALSO much lower too.

If you're fully vaccinated but still get #COVID19, you clear the virus MORE quickly, so you're less contagious overall.

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This is why being fully vaccinated & PREVENTING #COVID19 infection is BETTER than just doing negative lateral flow testing (LFT, "rapid" tests).

Persons who are fully vaccinated protect themselves from infection as well as those around them MUCH BETTER.

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The sensitivity of lateral flow tests in asymptomatic persons with #COVID19 is ~60%. So 4 times out of 10, the LFT doesn't identify you correctly - it "misses" you.

If it's positive, then you've got #COVID19. But it misses a good # of infections, especially early on.

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Suppose you're unvaccinated. You do an LFT w/ no symptoms but you're actually infected. It's negative.

72 hours later, you attend @ericchurch concert. Presumably at that point you're pretty contagious. If you're not wearing a mask, shouting, chanting, singing... uh oh.

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That's why being fully vaccinated IS BETTER than a negative LFT for non-essential activities.

Being fully vaccinated protects yourself & those around you FAR BETTER than negative LFT every 72 hours.

PCR testing has far better sensitivity than LFT but is ++ expensive.

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In summary, this is why we should consider removing the negative test option for some/all non-essential activities.

Requiring full vaccination for these activities is FAR safer from public health perspective & will push vaccine uptake as high as it possibly can be.

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