Politics and Money

[lesgetrich]

Breakthrough cases (Covid infections among vaccinated people) are more common where there are large populations of infected people (republican states where there has been greater resistance to vaccination). Those breakthrough cases are primarily among people who are older or have compromised immune response due to chemotherapy or other medical conditions or who were among the first to be vaccinated (i.e. their immunity is wearing off over time). However, hospitalization and death rates among the vaccinated are still very low. The vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths are occurring among the unvaccinated...

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases expected to become more common in coming months

Experts blame delta variant’s rise and declining efficacy of vaccines but say most infections among the vaccinated will be mild

“With a lot more virus circulating — and almost all of it is delta, which is more transmissible — a fully vaccinated person is more likely to be exposed than they were in July, depending on where they live,” said Jen Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The District of Columbia recorded more than 300 breakthrough COVID-19 cases per week throughout August. That is a sharp uptick from June, when it routinely recorded around 10 breakthrough cases per week.

“With an increase in community spread, there are more opportunities to be exposed, and we expect a proportion of vaccinated people will become infected, knowing that our breakthrough rate is 0.72 percent,” a D.C. Department of Health spokesperson said.

Delaware is also tracking breakthrough cases, and as of Sept. 10, the state recorded more than 2,300 breakthrough cases, or roughly 0.5 percent of all Delawareans who have been fully vaccinated.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health found 6 percent of its recorded cases are among fully vaccinated individuals.


Most breakthrough cases will not land you in the hospital, though, or even urgent care. The risk of death and hospitalization remains very low for fully vaccinated individuals.

State data shows vaccines keep people out of the hospital and alive. New Jersey found just 0.002 percent of its vaccinated population died of the virus.

When asked about rising case numbers, CDC communications specialist Kristen Nordlund noted that this is consistent with declining vaccine efficacy and rising case counts with the delta variant.

Post-vaccine immunity wanes over time, according to the CDC. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to lose some efficacy after four months, and the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine is the least effective overall.