With tens of millions of Americans now vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of August, so-called “breakthrough” cases are bound to occur. But there’s reassuring news from new data: Most such cases are mild and those leading to hospitalization are exceedingly rare.
Overall, the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that as of Aug. 30, there have been 12,908 cases of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization or death among vaccinated Americans, CNN reported.
Considering that more than 173 million Americans had been vaccinated by Aug. 30, that works out to a one in 13,000 chance of a vaccinated person getting a case so severe that hospitalization is required, the news agency said.
Fully vaccinated people now make up only 4% of cases of people hospitalized with COVID-19, CNN reported. Among these rare cases of vaccinated people getting a breakthrough illness that requires hospitalization, 70% occurred among adults aged 65 and older. For breakthrough cases resulting in death, 87% of patients were 65 or older.
…
When it comes to giving out COVID-19 booster shots, all of this suggests that any rollout should focus on older populations, one expert said.
