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At least three fully immunized Hawaii residents have contracted COVID-19, although coronavirus vaccines appear to have prevented serious illness.
None of the three people who received two doses of the vaccine and then tested positive became seriously ill or passed the virus on to others, the health ministry said in an email.
“This number is not outside of what we would expect with nearly 165,000 people in Hawaii who are fully vaccinated,” DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr said. “A vaccine that is 95% effective will protect 95 out of 100 people. This is another reason we all need to do our part to reduce the number of cases. The lower the prevalence of COVID in the community, the less likely we are to get infected, even those who have been vaccinated. “
One of the cases was an Oahu health worker who contracted the virus after a recent trip to the mainland. The worker had completed the two-dose regimen of the COVID-19 vaccine in early January and traveled to several cities across the continent about a month later.
After returning to Hawaii, the individual and a traveling companion were notified of their positive test results. Neither of them developed symptoms or infected from close contacts, the health ministry said, adding that laboratory samples could not be obtained for sequencing to identify a variant of the virus.
Health officials have stressed that being vaccinated against COVID-19 does not guarantee that a person will not contract COVID-19. However, vaccines still prevent serious illness and save lives, said director of health Libby Char.
“Nothing is 100%. The really important thing is that being vaccinated prevents us from serious illness, hospitalization and death, ”she said. “This does not mean that you are completely immune and free from COVID. Some people will not develop enough antibodies. “
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccines in the United States are “effective in preventing COVID-19 disease, especially serious illness and death.” But CDC officials warn that “we’re still learning how effective vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.”
Early data shows that vaccines may work against some variants but may be less effective against others. “We are still learning how much COVID-19 vaccines are preventing people from spreading disease.”
Health officials in Hawaii have reported one new death from coronavirus – an Oahu man in his 60s with an underlying illness – and 66 infections, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 449 deaths and 28,145 cases.
The new cases include 30 on Oahu, 20 on Maui, 15 on the island of Hawaii and one on Molokai, according to health officials. As a result of updated information, public health officials have removed two Oahu cases from the accounts.
Statistics released today reflect the new cases of infection reported to the department on Wednesday.
The state allows residents 65 years of age and older and those in the Phase 1c category to get vaccinated starting Monday. This includes essential workers in the hospitality industry, catering, transportation, water / wastewater, construction, banking and finance, communications, energy, law, media. , public safety and public health, as well as 16 to 64 year olds. with high risk medical conditions. Hawaii received 62,530 doses of the vaccine this week and expects 64,670 doses to arrive next week.
Vaccines are just another level of protection, and residents should always adhere to precautions until enough people are vaccinated and “we have good immunity in our community,” Char added.
“We shouldn’t think of it as a panacea, but as another layer of protection. The most important layer of protection… wearing our masks, keeping our distance from each other – that’s what’s going to keep us safe, ”she said. “Even though we’ve been vaccinated, that doesn’t mean you have a free ticket to go do whatever you want.”
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