5 Things To Know About 'Breakthrough' Coronavirus Cases In CA

Los Angeles CA

21 July, 2021

7:39 PM

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CALIFORNIA — Coronavirus cases are on the rise again, and the state's COVID-19 testing positivity rate has risen to 4.5 percent from around 1 percent in May. Infections in those who are fully vaccinated have increased slightly too, raising alarm as reports of "breakthrough" cases among vaccinated legislators and Olympic athletes dominate headlines. But health officials emphasize that such cases are still rare and that vaccines sharply reduce the likelihood of serious illness and death. It's the unvaccinated Californians as well as the amplifier of the highly transmissible Delta variant that is driving the summer surge, according to public health experts. Post-vaccination infections are officially recorded if a person tests positive for the coronavirus two weeks after receiving their final dose of Pfizer or Moderna or after getting the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. "When you hear about a breakthrough infection, that doesn't necessarily mean the vaccine is failing," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious disease specialist, told a worried Senate panel this week. The shots are holding up, he said, even in the face of the highly contagious Delta variant that is burning through unvaccinated communities. On Wednesday Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has shelled out millions of dollars in incentives to convince the vaccine-hesitant to get a jab, begged skeptical Californians to reconsider. He also blamed "right-wing" figures for misinforming those who are apprehensive about becoming vaccinated. READ MORE: Newsom Lashes Out At Vaccine Lies, Dismisses Vax Passport Rumors "We are trying to combat the misinformation on these right-wing shows, these right-wing pundits," Newsom said. "They are simply ideological about this. It was nice to see one of them last night or two nights ago finally acknowledge the truth about science and the efficacy of these vaccines," Newsom said, referring to pro-vaccine comments this week by Fox News host Sean Hannity. "We need to see more of that," Newsom added. "We need to see more courage of conviction for those that have privately gotten the vaccine but are out there preaching somehow that these vaccines are unsafe or leading the public astray on that." Here are five things to know about breakthrough cases. 1. High-profile breakthrough cases don't mean such infections are common Reports of outbreaks among vaccinated athletes, Hollywood film crews and lawmakers have raised alarm around the nation, making breakthrough infections seem more common than they actually are. "High profile cases may be good for drawing attention to an issue, but they usually are not able to provide one with the information necessary to understand the actual risk," Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of infectious disease at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Patch. Last week, 60 House Democrats traveled to Washington D.C. to prevent the passage of a Republican election bill. As of Wednesday, six fully vaccinated Texas lawmakers had tested positive, the Texas Tribune reported. "The Texas Democrats could represent a sampling error," he said. "A sample of 60 vaccinated people happens to include three breakthrough infections," he said on Tuesday when just three lawmakers had tested positive "In short, the Texas democrats and the high profile cases do not provide much useful information beyond the fact that breakthrough infections can occur," Brewer said. 2. Unvaccinated infections are driving the numbers up, not breakthrough cases Californians are hearing about breakthrough cases more often, but those infections occur far less than in those who are unvaccinated, the state's number show. Between Jan. 1 and July 14, out of some 20.7 million fully vaccinated Californians, 14,365 post-vaccination cases were reported, representing just 0.069% of those who were fully vaccinated. What's more, between Jan. 1 and July 14, 99 percent of the state's cases have occurred in the unvaccinated. "As transmission continues to increase in communities statewide, along with the faster spreading Delta variant, more individuals, especially those who are unvaccinated, will likely get COVID," public health officials said on Wednesday. Between July 7 and July 14, the average case rate among Californians was 13 per 100,000 while the case rate among vaccinated Californians in that same week was much smaller at 2 per 100,000, the California Department of Public Health reported Wednesday. Nationwide, there isn't a specific count, but experts say breakthrough infections are rare. As of July 12, the CDC had tallied 5,492 vaccinated people who were hospitalized or died and also tested positive for coronavirus — out of more than 159 million fully vaccinated Americans. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said 99.5 percent of all deaths from COVID-19 occurred in the unvaccinated. 3. Vaccines are not perfect, but they are doing what they're supposed to Since vaccines became available to Californians this year, public health officials and infectious disease experts alike have repeatedly urged that vaccines are not 100 percent effective. But they do dramatically reduce the likelihood of serious disease and death. Pfizer and Moderna are about 95 percent against symptomatic infection, while Johnson & Johnson was found to be 72 percent effective overall, with 86 percent efficacy against severe disease. "Given no vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing COVID-19, we expect to find more post-vaccination cases as we continue to look for them and as additional data are received," a California Public Health spokesperson previously told Patch. At least 843 people linked to post-vaccination COVID-19 cases have been hospitalized this year in California. But state health officials urge that 30 percent of those cases have "missing hospitalization data." "It is also important to note that a post-vaccine case may have been hospitalized for a condition unrelated to COVID-19 reason but were tested for COVID-19 upon admission," CDPH said in an emailed statement. Among those post-vaccination cases, at least 88 Californians died, the state said. But among those cases, it is unknown whether COVID-19 was the sole cause. "The vaccines were developed to keep us out of those terrible institutions we call hospitals," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. "We have to keep coming back to that." Patch editor Kat Schuster and the Associated Press contributed to this report.