WEST PALM BEACH, FL – While vaccination efforts are ongoing nationwide, a troubling number of “breakthrough” infections – where individuals who have been fully vaccinated and are 14 days beyond their second shot – are growing in frequency in several regions of the United States, including Florida and Michigan.
The Orlando area in Florida reports that dozens of resident who have received both of their vaccine shots are nonetheless contracting COVID-19. The Florida Department of Health in Volusia County notes that six breakthrough cases of COVID-19 have been reported, another six reported in Sumter County and 26 cases confirmed in Lake County.
Meanwhile, 246 fully vaccinated Michigan residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and three have died. A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services noted that the cases were reported between January 1 and March 31, and that all of them had tested positive over two weeks after receiving their second dose of vaccine.
Medical experts contend that, while both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95 percent effective against COVID-19, it is still possible for vaccinated individuals to contract the virus. Health officials have also said that a small proportion of people can take longer than two weeks to develop antibodies after being fully vaccinated; it’s also possible to have caught COVID prior to their first or second shots.
And in the event that an individual comes down with COVID, being vaccinated can prevent the case from being more severe and can even help to stave off hospitalization and death.
“You will see breakthrough infections in any vaccination when you’re vaccinating literally tens and tens and tens of millions of people. So in some respects, that’s not surprising,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a recent White House COVID-19 briefing.
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