Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Breakthrough Covid Cases Remain Rare But, Inevitably, Are Happening
Reports of athletes, lawmakers and others getting the coronavirus despite vaccination may sound alarming but top health experts point to overwhelming evidence that the shots are doing exactly what they are supposed to: dramatically reducing severe illness and death. The best indicator: U.S. hospitalizations and deaths are nearly all among the unvaccinated, and real-world data from Britain and Israel support that protection against the worst cases remains strong. What scientists call 鈥渂reakthrough鈥 infections in people who are fully vaccinated make up a small fraction of cases. (Neergaard, 7/21)
New Jersey health officials say that almost 50 fully-vaccinated people have died from COVID-19 according to data through July 12, NJ Advance Media reported on Wednesday. Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, told the news outlet that all 49 people who died were over 50 years old. Thirty were over 80 years old, 13 people were between 65 and 79 years old, and six were between 50 and 64 years old. (Vakil, 7/21)
As COVID-19 cases surge in Louisiana among unvaccinated people, the inevitable is occurring: some vaccinated people are also getting sick. This has raised concerns that the highly transmissible delta variant, which now accounts for 83% of cases in Louisiana and in neighboring states, is better at slipping past the vaccine鈥檚 defenses. But according to health experts closely tracking infections, the vaccines remain very effective at what they were created to do: prevent severe illness and death. (Woodruff, 7/21)
Coronavirus infections are on the rise again in the United States. While more than 99% of deaths are among those unvaccinated, anecdotal reports abound of breakthrough infections, or cases of fully vaccinated people who still test positive for Covid-19 鈥 including several New York Yankee baseball players. How worried should vaccinated people be of contracting Covid-19? If you're vaccinated, are you still able to transmit coronavirus to others, such as young children too young to get the vaccine themselves? Does the more transmissible Delta variant change the equation, and what precautions should vaccinated people still be taking? (Hetter, 7/22)
