Doctor Huerta exhibits some discomfort after the second dose of Moderna's vaccine 15:00
(CNN) -
A new study suggests that the biggest spreaders of the coronavirus in the U.S. are adults ages 20 to 49, but that doesn't mean they should be brought to the front of the vaccination line, experts say.
A research team from Imperial College London used mobile phone location data covering more than 10 million people and publicly available information on the spread of the virus to calculate which age groups were most responsible for the spread of the virus in most of the US
Children accounted for very little spread, the researchers said, as did older adults.
This could mean that opening schools might not contribute to the spread if transmission is controlled among younger adults, they said.
"This study provides evidence that the resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic in the US in 2020 has been driven by adults ages 20-49, and particularly adults 35-49, before and after reopening from school, ”the team wrote in their report, published in the journal
Science
.
“Unlike the pandemic flu, these adults accounted for, after the school reopened in October 2020, approximately 72.2% of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US locations considered, while less than 5% originated in children between 0 and 9 years old and less than 10% in adolescents between 10 and 19 years old.
advertising
Transmission of covid-19 in adults aged 35 to 49 years
And it could be adults ages 35 to 49 who are the biggest factor driving the pandemic, as opposed to younger adults, Oliver Ratmann of the Covid-19 Response Team at Imperial College and colleagues concluded.
«Before the implementation of covid-19 interventions, concentrated contacts between people of similar age, were higher among children and adolescents of school age, and were also common among children / adolescents and their parents, and adults middle-aged and the elderly.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, these contact patterns have changed substantially, ”the team wrote.
'This study indicates that in places where new highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 strains have not yet been established, additional interventions among adults aged 20-49 years, such as mass vaccination with vaccines that block transmission, could control the resurgence of covid-19 epidemics and avoid deaths, "they added.
LEE
: British scientists say the next dangerous variant of covid is probably already here.
We just don't know yet
They estimated that people ages 35 to 49 accounted for 41% of new broadcasts through mid-August, and adults ages 20 to 34 were responsible for another 35%.
Children and adolescents accounted for only 6% of the spread.
People aged 50 to 64 represent 15% of transmission.
'Over time, the proportion of age groups among reported deaths has been remarkably constant, suggesting that young adults are unlikely to have been the main source of resurgent epidemics since the summer of 2020 and that instead, changes in mobility and behavior among the broader group of adults aged 20-49 are the basis for the resurgence of COVID-19 in the US in 2020, ”the team wrote.
Efforts to control the spread of the virus
The researchers said that efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus, including vaccination, should probably focus on people ages 20 to 49.
But there are still not enough vaccines to immunize everyone, and the federal government is working with state and local governments to try to vaccinate people in an orderly, fair, and logical way.
Current U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines put front-line healthcare workers and frail long-term-care facility residents at the forefront of the vaccine line .
The White House under Presidents Trump and Biden has suggested that states open vaccination to anyone over 65, as this age group is considered most vulnerable to death and serious illness from covid-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday that while older people are at higher risk for serious illness, experts have long suspected that younger people are driving the spread. of the virus in the US
LEE
: Why do some people test positive after receiving the covid-19 vaccine?
Fauci did not dismiss the idea that the US should ensure that people ages 20 to 49 get vaccinated, but noted that it should not be done at the expense of vaccinating older people, especially those with underlying health problems.
"You don't want to deprive them of the vaccines to give them to the youngest, because they are the ones who are going to end up in the hospital and have a higher mortality rate," Fauci told CNN's Don Lemon.
"What we don't want to do is neglect them."
The vaccine line
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University and a CNN medical analyst, said that while it's important to vaccinate older people, younger adults don't necessarily need to be at the end of the line.
LEE
: WHO team visits the Chinese bat laboratory at the center of the coronavirus conspiracies
"I've thought for a while that priority groups just aren't working and that we have to open it up to everyone," Reiner told CNN's Jake Tapper on Wednesday.
"Now we can put aside perhaps a higher percentage of vaccines for older Americans, but I think we need to start giving the vaccine to younger people for exactly this reason: younger people are the ones spreading the virus. Reiner added.
The Moderna and Pfizer covid-19 vaccines currently available in the US provide protection against serious diseases, although it is unclear whether they prevent transmission of the virus.
Researchers have suggested that the type of protection that vaccines provide may play a role in decisions about who should get a vaccine and when.
"Ultimately, everyone should get vaccinated," Reiner said.
And if you end up vaccinating the elderly, you will save their lives because they are at greater risk.
And if you vaccinate younger people, you will also save lives because they are spreading the virus.
covid-19
