Covid shots: why the vaccinated are still at risk from the coronavirus

With Covid-19 shots reaching billions of people, reports have become increasingly frequent that people infected with the coronavirus despite being vaccinated. Just as a natural infection does not guarantee protection against reinfection by the virus, vaccination is not a perfect shield either. Yet those who are immune – either through vaccination or infection – carry a fraction of the risk of those who don’t. supposedly the breakthrough cases among the vaccinated are a reminder that as long as the pandemic virus is widespread in the world, it will remain a threat to everyone.

First of all, it’s important to remember that a positive test indicates infection with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that can cause Covid-19. The disease is not diagnosed until the infection causes symptoms such as fever and cough; a significant proportion of those infected never develop symptoms. Although vaccines offer a strong defense against serious illnesses caused by SARS-CoV-2, none fully protect against infection, which means that many vaccinated people are still at risk of catching the virus and transmitting it to others. other people. The more SARS-CoV-2 circulates in a community, the greater the risk of infection. In some cases, these infections pierce the protective shield that vaccine-induced immunity provides to cause symptoms of Covid. In rare cases, the disease can be life threatening. Another possible risk is what is called long Covid – lasting fatigue, shortness of breath and other symptoms seen in around 1 in 10 Covid survivors; it is not known to what extent vaccines prevent these persistent problems.