Breakthrough Cases

What is a breakthrough case of COVID-19?

At one point, most people who got COVID-19 were unvaccinated. However, as vaccination rates have increased, we have seen that vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection. Some fully vaccinated individuals still get COVID-19, especially as the number of variants increases.

According to the CDC, an infection of a fully vaccinated person is referred to as a “vaccine breakthrough infection,” or breakthrough case.

The Possibility of COVID-19 after Vaccination: Breakthrough Infections

Health officials push for booster shots as 50% of last week’s COVID-19 deaths in Illinois were breakthrough cases

KHN: "I Got a 'Mild' Breakthrough Case. Here's What I Wish I'd Known"

My Breakthrough COVID-19 Case

How we look at breakthrough cases over time and how we handle them continues to change as 2021 winds down. How do you think we'll handle breakthrough cases for vaccinated people in the future?