Why We Are Seeing Fully Vaccinated People Getting COVID

Around the world, we are hearing more reports of fully vaccination people getting COVID-19 – ‘breakthrough’ infections. Although it may seem like vaccines are failing, here’s why you shouldn’t worry too much.

The good news is most breakthrough infections we are seeing usually result in mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. This is exactly what our COVID-19 vaccines are supposed to do – protect us from severe disease and death. Vaccines aren’t made to stop you from getting infected at all – they are made to help you fight the infection better.

In places like Israel where most of the population is vaccinated, we are seeing some serious breakthrough infections in hospital. However, 87% of these cases are 60 or older, and we know immunity declines with age. This does however highlight the need for booster doses for vulnerable people, including healthcare workers exposed to high viral loads everyday.