Since no vaccine is 100% effective, until a disease is eradicated, we always run the risk of breakthrough infections, even when we are completely vaccinated.
“A person who has SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen detected on a respiratory specimen collected ≥14 days after completing the primary series of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized COVID-19 vaccine.”
COVID-19 Breakthrough Case Investigations and Reporting
And as expected, we are seeing breakthough COVID-19 infections in those who have been fully vaccinated.
Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections and Deaths
How many breakthrough infections?
A report last month found that very few fully vaccinated health care workers in California developed COVID-19.
“The rarity of positive test results 14 days after administration of the second dose of vaccine is encouraging and suggests that the efficacy of these vaccines is maintained outside the trial setting.”
SARS-CoV-2 Infection after Vaccination in Health Care Workers in California
We also have more data from the CDC on breakthrough infections now.
The CDC has only received 5,814 reports of COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections from 43 U.S. states and territories after more than 75 million people have been vaccinated!
This includes 1,695 people who had no symptoms, 396 people who were hospitalized (although 133 of them were not hospitalized for COVID-19!), and 74 deaths (including nine who did not actually have symptoms of COVID-19).
To put that in perspective, during the same time (since December 14, 2020), overall there have been:
- 15,609,331 cases of COVID-19
- on average from 106,612 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day on December 14 to about 38,000 a day in mid April
- 267,995 COVID-19 deaths
Hopefully that helps you realize that the COVID-19 vaccines do indeed work well.
More on Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections and Deaths
- Should I Blame the Vaccine If I’m Sick and I Just Got Vaccinated?
- What You Should Know About the Possibility of COVID-19 Illness After Vaccination
- Do Vaccinated Kids Who Get Sick Have Milder Disease?
- COVID-19 Vaccination Goals
- COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Update
- I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in the COVID-19 Vaccine
- COVID-19 Vaccination Questions and Answers
- The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines
- CDC – COVID-19 Breakthrough Case Investigations and Reporting
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection after Vaccination in Health Care Workers in California
- Tiny minority of vaccinated Minnesotans test positive for COVID-19