Can you still receive COVID after receiving the vaccine?

Reports are pouring in from people who contracted COVID-19 while being vaccinated, such as these four people in Oregon and these 12 in Hawaii. But these are only a few cases out of millions of vaccinated. New research confirms vaccines are actually extremely effectiveworldwide use, and that revolutionary cases like these are rare.

According to the phase 3 studies that were needed before vaccines could be approved, the Moderna vaccine was found to be 94% effective against symptomatic infections and the Pfizer vaccine 95% efficient. These figures refer to the vaccine efficiency, a number calculated from laboratory tests. If the number of cases in a group of people vaccinated is 5% more than in the control group, this vaccine is 95% effective. This is an important number to calculate in a test, but it is not the same as the real-world efficiency.

Likewise, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was calculated as 66% effective, although the vaccine trial was tested in an environment with more new variants in circulation, so this number cannot be directly compared to the other two. Experts said all three vaccines are effective and there are no serious reason to refuse a vaccine in preference to another.

What about the realglobal efficiency?

A new study today provides more information on efficiency in real timeglobal situations. Almost 4,000 people who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in December were followed for three months; tthey regularly dabbed their noses and sent samples to the CDC to be tested for the coronavirus whether they felt sick or not.

The results were excellent: people in the study were 90% protected against infection when fully vaccinated (14 days after their second dose) and 80% during the period that started 14 days after their first dose. .

The study volunteers were healthcare workers and other essential workers, mostly aged 18 to 49, mostly white, and included more women than men.

While Phase 3 trials only tested participants if they had symptoms of COVID, this study tested everyone, so we have new information: vaccines are effective against infection, not just against infection. symptomatic infection. Until recently, we weren’t sure if the vaccines stopped people from getting the virus or just made them less likely to develop symptoms. This study is among the first to show that the vaccine also prevents asymptomatic infections.

Rupture infections are rare

But the have been still impactful infections. Among 994 unvaccinated people, 161 developed infections. Compared to this, the vaccine was very effective, but not perfect. There were eight infections in people who received only one dose of the vaccine, and only three in people who received both doses.

When you see stories about breakthrough infections, it’s important to put them in context. If there are so few that every handful of cases warrant reporting – among the 51 million people fully immunized– this in itself is a sign that the vaccines are working very well.

It is also important to note that breakthrough infections may not turn out to be as serious as those infections in people who have not received the vaccine. All three vaccines have been shown in their trials to be extremely effective against death and serious illness.

Whether or not rupture infections are milder is one of the many open questions about breakthrough infections that researchers are still trying to answer. Others include whether the breakthrough infections in the study may have been caused by newer variants of the coronavirus, or if people with breakthrough infections had anything else in common (such as pre-existing medical conditions).