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The CDC Only Tracks a Fraction of Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections, Even as Cases Surge

"C.D.C. Internal Report Calls Delta Variant as Contagious as Chickenpox
"Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca vaccines and the 'impossibility' of COVID herd immunity as Delta changes the score""

A May 1 decision by the CDC to only track breakthrough infections that lead to hospitalization or death has left the nation with a muddled understanding of COVID-19’s impact on the vaccinated.

by Jenny Deam and Bianca Fortis
Aug. 20, 5 a.m. EDT

Meggan Ingram was fully vaccinated when she tested positive for COVID-19 early this month. The 37-year-old’s fever had spiked to 103 and her breath was coming in ragged bursts when an ambulance rushed her to an emergency room in Pasco, Washington, on Aug. 10. For three hours she was given oxygen and intravenous steroids, but she was ultimately sent home without being admitted.

Seven people in her house have now tested positive. Five were fully vaccinated and two of the children are too young to get a vaccine.

[...]

Under pressure from some health experts, the CDC announced Wednesday that it will create a new outbreak analysis and forecast center, tapping experts in the private sector and public health to guide it to better predict how diseases spread and to act quickly during an outbreak.

Tracking only some data and not releasing it sooner or more fully, critics say, leaves a gaping hole in the nation’s understanding of the disease at a time when it most needs information.

“They are missing a large portion of the infected,” said Dr. Randall Olsen, medical director of molecular diagnostics at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. “If you’re limiting yourself to a small subpopulation with only hospitalizations and deaths, you risk a biased viewpoint.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-cdc-only-tracks-a-fraction-of-breakthrough-covid-19-infections-even-as-cases-surge