Nearly 70 ICU staffers in Spain have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending their hospital’s holiday party, according to Reuters. Before the gathering, everyone who tested positive had a negative rapid antigen test or had received a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Officials are still trying to locate the source of the outbreak. But the University Regional Hospital medical staff attended a party on December 1 at a restaurant in the city of Malaga, Insider reports. Out of the 173 people total who were present, 68 have tested positive. So far, the nurses and doctors are only experiencing mild symptoms, and it’s not yet clear which variant is the culprit of these infections. (Spain has at least seven cases of the omicron variant so far.) Everyone who tested positive has been isolated, and their shifts have been covered.
While it’s certainly concerning to see any superspreader event, it’s not a complete surprise. As SELF previously reported, rapid antigen tests are not foolproof. In a Cochrane review published in March 2021, researchers looked at 58 studies that assessed rapid antigen test accuracy. On average, rapid antigen tests correctly identified COVID-19 infections 72% of the time—but that was just in people experiencing noticeable symptoms. For people without symptoms, the tests correctly identified 58% of people with COVID-19.
The fact that the partygoers are only experiencing mild symptoms is a good thing too. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, recent data suggest the vaccine’s ability to prevent infection in frontline health care workers has diminished over time. “This lower effectiveness is likely due to the combination of decreasing protection as time passes since getting vaccinated, as well as the greater infectiousness of the delta variant,” the CDC explains. (It’s not yet clear how infectious the omicron variant may be compared to delta.)
READ RELATED: Sam Burgess could make NRL comeback as he is cleared of domestic abuse allegations
Clinical trials suggest that boosters help improve immune response against the coronavirus. “With an increased immune response, people should have improved protection against COVID-19, including the delta variant,” the CDC says. (Research is ongoing to see how vaccines, including booster shots, may protect against omicron.)
But “improved” still doesn’t make us virus-proof. “COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing most infections. However, like other vaccines, they are not 100% effective,” the CDC explains. However, when vaccinated or boosted people do get sick, their symptoms are milder and they are much less likely to be hospitalized or die than unvaccinated people. They can also reduce your risk of long COVID. So, like other strongly recommended vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are still very much worth getting even if they’re not guaranteed to fully protect you from disease. And getting more people vaccinated is crucial for preventing the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, which continue to crop up because not enough people are protected from this virus.
While vaccines and boosters can do a lot in the fight against COVID-19, they’re most effective when paired with other public health measures, like wearing a mask in indoor public spaces, according to the CDC. Is it fun to wear face masks somewhere like a crowded holiday party whenever you’re not eating or drinking (or deciding you’ll actually get your fill pre-party so you can mask up the whole time)? Nope. But at least there are some pretty options that may make you feel a little more festive as you do it.
Related:
Source: SELF
