In October, the vaccine breakthrough cases of Covid-19 comprised nearly 39 percent of all known cases, according to a State of Alaska report.
As the number of vaccinated people continues to rise in Alaska, the virus is breaking through the vaccine at an accelerating rate. In October, 6,984 of the 18,083 0- more than a third — of documented cases of Covid were among those who were fully vaccinated.
In September, the state reported, “The incidence of COVID-19 among vaccinated persons has remained consistently lower than among persons who were not unvaccinated.”
But the percentage of cases that are breakthroughs was already rising and rose even more, from 23 percent in June to nearly 39 percent in October.
Is it due to Delta?
In July, the CDC said that vaccine effectiveness dropped nearly 30 percentage points when the Delta variant became the dominant variant. The CDC said in December of 2020 that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were “approximately 90% effective in preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in real-world conditions.” Study details here.
Delta is the dominate strain in Alaska.
The CDC now reports that:
- “Vaccine breakthrough infections are expected. COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing most infections. However, like other vaccines, they are not 100% effective.
- “Fully vaccinated people with a vaccine breakthrough infection are less likely to develop serious illness than those who are unvaccinated and get COVID-19.
- “Even when fully vaccinated people develop symptoms, they tend to be less severe symptoms than in unvaccinated people. This means they are much less likely to be hospitalized or die than people who are not vaccinated.
- “People who get vaccine breakthrough infections can be contagious.”
269 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated Alaskans were documented through Oct. 31, 2021 and another 82 hospitalizations were documented among partially vaccinated Alaska residents.
Fully vaccinated persons were much less likely to be hospitalized due to Covid-19 than persons who were unvaccinated, the State reported.
The median age among those hospitalized who were fully vaccinated was 72.4 years, and the median age of those who were not fully vaccinated was 62.0 years, or 10.5 years younger.
In the December Epidemiology Bulletin published by the Department of Health and Social Services, Alaska’s Covid-19 death rate increased substantially following arrival of the Delta variant.
Alaska’s death rates remain highest in males, older adults, and those with underlying medical conditions. Chronic cardio-respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus were the most common underlying medical conditions identified among those whose deaths were attributed to Covid.
Approximately 67 percent of Alaskan adults are estimated to have underlying health conditions that put them at increased risk of severe Covid-19 illness, including obesity, diabetes, chronic obstructive lung disease, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and current or past smoking, the State reports.
