06-27-2021, 09:29 PM
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CDC: 4,115 Fully Vaccinated Have Been Hospitalized
Or Died With Breakthrough Covid-19 Infections
Jun 26, 2021,02:26pm EDT
Bruce Y. Lee
Senior Contributor
Here is yet another reminder that Covid-19 vaccines are not like gigantic concrete
full-body condoms. Concrete condoms, in general, are a bad idea, and fully vaccinated
does not mean perfectly protected against Covid-19. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have already been 4,115 reported
cases of fully vaccinated people being hospitalized or dying with Covid-19 coronavirus
breakthrough infections.
That’s as of June 21, 2021. Nearly half (49 percent) of these cases have been
female and a little over three-quarters (76 percent) have been 65 years and older.
There were a total of 3,907 hospitalizations and 750 deaths among those who had
breakthrough infections, although not all of the hospitalizations may have been
due primarily to Covid-19.
As I have described previously for Forbes, a “breakthrough infection” is when a fully
vaccinated person still gets infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus, otherwise known
as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). The 4,115
number does not represent all breakthrough infections that have happened. They
are just reported cases where hospitalizations or deaths happened to occur. Back in
April, the CDC stopped keeping track of all reported breakthrough infections,
choosing instead to focus going forward just on those in which hospitalizations
or deaths were involved.
Therefore, the 4,115 is only the tip of the Kardashian so to speak, meaning that it’s
only what’s been obvious and getting attention. The actual total number of breakthrough
infections is higher although it isn’t really clear how much higher.
Regardless, let’s put the 3,907 hospitalizations and 750 deaths in proper perspective.
Over 4,000 may sound like a large number when counting something like the number
of marmots in your bed. Certainly any death is tragic. But consider the fact that over
150 million people in U.S. have already been fully vaccinated in U.S. Doing a quick
calculation with your abacus and your fingers and toes will reveal that the 4,115 cases
constitute less than 0.003% of all fully vaccinated people in the U.S. Compare that
with the measured effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, which has ranged from
about 70 percent to 95 plus percent. That means that at least 5% of the time a vaccine
won’t be able to prevent Covid-19 after exposure to the virus. As I have emphasized
before, nothing in life is perfect, with the possible exception of avocado toast.
So such numbers don’t mean that the Covid-19 vaccines are not working. That would
be like saying, “to heck with wearing clothes” the first several times a racoon manages
to jump into your pants while you are wearing them. Certainly, wearing clothes is
better than not wearing clothes when attending a racoon rave or a business meeting
or a combination of both. Similarly, your risk of getting more severe Covid-19 is still
much, much higher when you’re not vaccinated, compared to when you are fully vaccinated.
Nevertheless, the CDC’s latest tallies of breakthrough infections are reminders that
you shouldn’t throw caution to the wind after you’ve been fully vaccinated. Unless you
are wealthy enough to have your own island, the pandemic remains a threat.
Until the pandemic ends, it will be important to stay vigilant and keep yourself protected.
When trying to protect yourself against Covid-19, think of Swiss cheese. This doesn’t mean
eat lots of Swiss cheese or cover your body with it. It means that each Covid-19 precaution
on its own has holes. And remember it’s a good thing to cover your holes, especially in public.
Layering on multiple precautions simultaneously can help each precaution compensate for
each others’ shortcomings. For example, when not everyone around you is vaccinated, it’s
not a bad idea to maintain social distancing and wear face masks even if you are fully vaccinated.
Plus, the protection that a Covid-19 vaccine offers does depend on what percentage of people
around you are also fully vaccinated, what other precautions you are taking, and how much
of the virus is circulating around you.
Of course, such Covid-19 precautions will not be needed forever. There will come a time in
the near future when the pandemic will be declared over. But premature relaxation of
precautions can leave a messy situation that will simply prolong the spread of the virus.