Vaccinated and unvaccinated people carry the same viral loads of the delta variant of the coronavirus when they are infected, according to new research.

A research team — made up of scientists from the University of California Davis and University of California San Francisco — found that people with symptomatic and asymptomatic infections carried similar viral loads.

  • However, this doesn’t mean that vaccinated people can spread COVID-19 as fast as unvaccinated people. Per The Sacramento Bee, vaccinated people are less likely to get infected by the coronavirus.
  • And vaccinated people are less likely to suffer from severe COVID-19, according to the study. Vaccinated people are less likely to be sent to the hospital due to the coronavirus, too, per The Sacramento Bee.
  • The researchers said the findings “underscore the continuing need for masking and regular testing alongside vaccination, especially in areas of high prevalence.”
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The delta variant has been known to spread faster and more rapidly than other mutations of the coronavirus. In fact, Eric Topol, a scientist and physician, explained on Twitter that the delta variant has a higher viral load, meaning it contains more particles than earlier variants of the coronavirus.

  •  “Part of the challenge that delta presents may be tied to this finding. The variant’s viral load ~1,000X higher than previous strains (reflected by low CTs), more infectious in the early stages of the illness,” he wrote via Twitter.
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Per Healthline, researchers said vaccinated people often will take in less viral load because of the COVID-19 vaccine, which stops them from spreading the delta variant as much as unvaccinated people.

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