Of the nearly 77 million people who are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, 5,800 have become infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN. That represents 0.008% who contracted COVID-19. Of those, 396 required hospitalization and 74 died.
“So far, about 5,800 breakthrough cases have been reported to CDC. To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics,” the Atlanta-based CDC told CNN via email.
Although the vaccines are effective against the coronavirus, the CDC still urges people to take safety precautions when in public.
“We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions,” it states on its website.
The 5,800 who got COVID-19 after being vaccinated are called “breakthrough cases” and were expected. Because the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are shown to be 90-95% effective in preventing the virus, infection is still possible.
“We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19,” the agency’s website states. “Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.”
The CDC said its next step is to see if patterns emerge based on age, gender, location, type of vaccine, variants and other factors.
“Vaccine breakthrough infections were reported among all people of all ages eligible for vaccination. However, a little over 40% of the infections were in people 60 or more years of age,” the CDC told CNN. Women made up 65% of the breakthrough cases.
“Vaccine breakthrough infections make up a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated,” the agency wrote in its email. “CDC recommends that all eligible people get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to them. CDC also continues to recommend people who have been fully vaccinated should keep taking precautions in public places, like wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing their hands often.”
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