(Newser)
– A new study will try to provide answers to what Dr. Anthony Fauci calls “a matter of extreme importance” – whether asymptomatic people who have been vaccinated can spread the coronavirus. And “if they are asymptomatic, how much virus do they have in their nose and transmit it to people who are in close contact with them?” Fauci said on Friday. The study, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health, will follow students from 21 university campuses, Axios reports. Half will receive the Moderna vaccine immediately, and the others will receive vaccines about four months later. Students will provide nose pads, collected in vials with barcodes. To test the antibodies, blood samples will be taken and tracked using an application.
Payment can be close to $ 1,000 for volunteers, and the study needs 12,000 of them. Results on the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine are expected in September. The study could play a major role in helping public health officials decide how careful vaccinated people should be, including whether they should continue to wear masks around anyone who has not been vaccinated. New York Times. The current guide to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the masks were not worn in small gatherings indoors, although everyone should wear masks in public. More than 87 million people in the United States have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, per New York Times. (Read more articles about the coronavirus vaccine.)