CDC Identifies Thousands of Cases of Coronavirus Among Tens of Millions of Fully Vaccinated Americans

Doses of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine are prepared for injection on January 14, 2021 a
KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified nearly 6,000 cases of the Chinese coronavirus developing in Americans who have been fully vaccinated, reflecting Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recent warning of “breakthrough” cases occurring as vaccination efforts continue across the country.

Roughly 5,800 cases of the virus have been identified among the millions of Americans who have been fully vaccinated. The breakthrough cases represent 0.008 percent of the “fully vaccinated population,” according to the Wall Street Journal:

The CDC earlier this year asked state health departments to track and report breakthrough cases to the federal government. So far, the cases that have been reported come from about 40 states.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal contacted health departments in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to ask how many breakthrough cases had been identified. Twenty-three states responded, reporting a total of 4,172 breakthrough cases.

The CDC told CNN, “So far, about 5,800 breakthrough cases have been reported to CDC. To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics.” Some of those who became infected were reported as “seriously ill,” and 74 died.

“It said 396 — 7% — of those who got infected after they were vaccinated required hospitalization,” the outlet added. CNN estimates “about 77 million people in the US are fully vaccinated against coronavirus,” based on its analysis of CDC data.

The statistics, officials say, are not surprising, as no vaccine is 100 percent effective. Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, warned of “breakthrough” cases this week.

“We see this with all vaccines, in clinical trials, in the real world,” Fauci said. “No vaccine is 100 percent efficacious, or effective.”

He used the annual flu vaccine as an example, noting it is never 100 percent effective and largely considered successful if it proves to be 60 percent effective.

“If you get vaccinated, no doubt, you’re less likely to get the flu,” Fauci said. “But even if you do get the flu and get sick, vaccination can reduce the severity and duration of illness, and could help get you out of trouble.”

Over 194 million shots have been administered in the United States, according to the CDC’s April 14 data. Although 23.1 percent of the U.S.  population has been “fully” vaccinated, officials have largely refused to loosen restrictions on vaccinated individuals, encouraging them to continue wearing masks and engage in social distancing.

“No, it’s still not ok for the simple reason that level of infection, the dynamics of infection in the community are still really disturbingly high,” Fauci said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan Show after being asked if it is acceptable to eat and drink indoors at restaurants or bars:

“If you’re not vaccinated, please get vaccinated as soon as vaccine becomes available to you. And if you are vaccinated, please remember that you still have to be careful and not get involved in crowded situations particularly indoors where people are not wearing masks,” Fauci said.

“And for the time being, until we show definitively that a person who’s vaccinated does not get this subclinical infection and can spread to others, you should also continue to wear a mask,” he added.

His remarks prompted further criticism from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who branded him a “petty” tyrant:

Editor’s Note: This headline has been updated to better represent the proportion of cases compared to the number of fully vaccinated individuals.

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