What Is A Breakthrough COVID-19 Infection?

The Delta variant of COVID-19 has caused the number of breakthrough cases to increase dramatically in recent weeks.

A breakthrough case refers to COVID infections that happen even after a person is fully vaccinated. The “breakthrough” refers to the virus making it past the protection of the vaccine and infect the host. Such cases are extremely rare happening in fewer than 1% of the population of vaccinated people, but with nearly 71% of American adults having received the shot it amounts to a large number of cases.

The Delta variant has caused more breakthrough cases, but these cases are rare and often carry few symptoms. The CDC has recently announced that it is investigating hospitalized and fatal breakthrough cases and will study the issue further. The CDC has published a page dedicated to explaining breakthrough virus infections, in which it still recommends getting vaccinated.