Are fully vaccinated people unable to spread COVID-19 if they are infected? No, that's not true. President Joe Biden incorrectly stated that vaccinated healthcare workers cannot spread the coronavirus if they are infected after receiving their full doses. According to the Centers for Disease Control, "vaccinated people can still become infected and have the potential to spread the virus to others, although at much lower rates than unvaccinated people."
The claim originated in a video (archived here) where it was published by the White House on October 7, 2021. The video included Biden making remarks on October 7 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, saying:
We're making sure health care workers are vaccinated, because if you seek care at a health care facility, you should have the certainty that the pro- -- the people providing that care are protected from COVID and cannot spread it to you."
This is what the post looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Mon Oct 11 19:18:19 2021 UTC)
At 23:00 in the video Biden said:
We're making sure health care workers are vaccinated, because if you seek care at a health care facility, you should have the certainty that the pro- -- the people providing that care are protected from COVID and cannot spread it to you."
Happening Now: President Biden delivers remarks on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination requirements. https://t.co/IZuH39HsSF
-- The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 7, 2021
This is not true. The CDC has stated the opposite -- fully vaccinated people can contract COVID-19 and spread the virus to other people. The CDC had this information on its website that was updated as of September 15, 2021, before Biden make the incorrect statement:
Evidence suggests the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has substantially reduced the burden of disease in the United States by preventing serious illness in fully vaccinated people and interrupting chains of transmission. Vaccinated people can still become infected and have the potential to spread the virus to others, although at much lower rates than unvaccinated people. The risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in fully vaccinated people are higher where community transmission of the virus is widespread. Current efforts to maximize the proportion of the U.S. population that is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 remain critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC also addressed the delta variant and warned those fully vaccinated but infected with COVID-19 can still spread the virus:
If you are fully vaccinated and become infected with the Delta variant, you can spread the virus to others.
