Federal Officials Reporting Thousands Of 'Breakthrough' COVID-19 Cases Among People Who Are Fully Vaccinated
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that thousands of Americans, out of millions, have still contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated.
"I'm not alarmed by this. You know, think about the millions of people who've already been vaccinated," said Dr. Jose Mayorga, the executive director of UCI Health Family Health Centers. "We need to understand the full picture and if there are some patterns around this."
The timing of the infections, the variant of COVID-19 contracted and the vaccine used are all currently being assessed by the CDC.
The CDC says that of the 75 million people fully vaccinated in the United States, 5,800 of them have tested positive for COVID-19.
"Out of the 5,800 who were infected after they received the vaccine, about 7% were hospitalized and unfortunately 74 people did die due to COVID," Mayorga said.
The death rate is less than one percent of those vaccinated with the majority of the positive cases found in women over the age of 60 years old.
The CDC and doctors still say getting fully vaccinated is still the best option for preventing the spread.
"Not being vaccinated puts you at a higher risk of being hospitalized or even perish from this infection," Mayorga said.
The CDC says it's not unusual with other viruses, where people have been vaccinated, to have breakthrough cases, so that's why officials encourage everyone who is vaccinated to still take precautions like washing your hands, wearing a face covering and avoiding crowds.