Impact of vaccination on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the UK: a modelling study

Abstract

Background Efficacy and effectiveness of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection, severe disease and death have been widely assessed. However, the impact of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 transmission is far less well-characterized, and has major implications for public health, because it informs the indirect effects of vaccination in addition to its direct effects. Analysing the effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on transmission is challenging, because they must be considered in tandem with the time-varying reproduction number (R_t), while also accounting for regional variability, for example due to the presence of more transmissible variants.