Vaccine breakthrough cases are defined as those in individuals who test positive for COVID-19-- at least 14 days after being fully immunized. The newest report on such cases in Oregon was recently released.
Looking at the last week of October, the Oregon Health Authority reports nearly a quarter (24.6%) of the 8,239 new COVID cases were breakthrough.
OHA’s Deputy Health Officer, Dr. Tom Jeanne explained, “it’s important to know that some people who are fully vaccinated will still get sick because no vaccine is 100% effective and those are the breakthrough cases.”
Over the one week data period, the median age of Oregonians infected after-vaccine was 47. Sixty-six of the breakthrough cases were in people ages 12 to 17. One percent of vaccinated people died with COVID at an average age of 80.
Dr. Jeanne said the rate of disease in unvaccinated people remains four times higher than in unvaccinated.
To date, there have been a total of 37,539 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. OHA researchers find this is a relatively small number when compared to the more than 2.8 million Oregonians who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
