Breakthrough COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations and deaths are extremely rare events among those who are fully vaccinated, according to a new study released Monday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.
The rate of breakthrough cases reported among those fully vaccinated is well below 1% in all reporting states, ranging from 0.01% in Connecticut to 0.90% in Oklahoma.
The rate of breakthrough cases in the District of Columbia stands at 0.04%.
The hospitalization rate among fully vaccinated people with COVID-19 ranged from effectively zero (0.00%) in California, Delaware, D.C., Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, and Virginia to 0.06% in Arkansas.
The report’s authors also noted that hospitalization might not have been due to COVID-19.
Further, the report stated that the rates of death among fully vaccinated people with COVID-19 were even lower, effectively zero (0.00&) in all but two reporting states, Arkansas and Michigan, where they were 0.01%.
Even then, the researchers said it’s not clear whether those deaths were coronavirus-related.
More than 90% of all COVID-19 cases and 95% of all hospitalizations have been among unvaccinated individuals.
In most states that track COVID-19 data, more than 98% of cases were among unvaccinated people, the report concluded.
“While the information on breakthrough events is still limited and incomplete, this analysis of available state-level data indicates that COVID-19 breakthrough cases, and especially hospitalizations and deaths, among those who are fully vaccinated are rare occurrences in the United States,” the report’s authors wrote.
“Moreover, this data indicates the vast majority of reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. are among those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated,” the researchers wrote.
“These findings echo the abundance of data demonstrating the effectiveness of currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
“Moving forward, particularly as the more transmissible Delta variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 circulating in the U.S., more robust state-level data will help to monitor ongoing vaccine effectiveness and inform discussions about booster vaccinations,” they said.
