Four people in Oregon, who were fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, tested positive for coronavirus, health officials said on Friday.
This makes Oregon one of the first states to report ‘innovative cases’, which occur when people test positive for the virus at least 14 days after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
Both vaccines approved for emergency use authorizations – Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – are 95 percent effective, meaning that five percent of those vaccinated can still be sick, which the official says is serious but not surprising.
‘[This is] it is not to be unexpected in a vaccine that, while phenomenal, with 95 percent effectiveness, still means that five percent may still be infected, ‘said Dr. Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in a press conference on Friday.
Two of the most important cases are in Yamhill County, some 64 kilometers from Portland, and the other two are located in Lane County, some 135 kilometers away.
Officials say the four people had few or no symptoms, which appears to support studies that suggest the vaccine may help reduce the severity of the disease.
Although OHA was unable to give details about the origin of these cases, their ages or when they received the last vaccine, they said that 2 out of 4 cases are associated with a single location where a cluster is located.
Four people in Oregon, who were fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, tested positive for coronavirus, all with mild or no symptoms. Pictured: an Oregonian aged 80 or older receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, February 10
Both vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are 95% effective, which means that 5% of all people will get sick, so the authorities say there are likely to be more of these ‘innovative cases’ (above)
At a news conference on Friday, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, a state health official with the health authority, said that no vaccine offers 100 percent protection, meaning there will be more cases of progress.
“What all this means is that we can expect to see more innovative cases,” Dean Sidelinger, health official at the state health authority.
“Vaccinating as many Oregon residents as possible remains a critical goal in ending the pandemic.
“Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and initial clinical trial data, experts believe that taking the COVID-19 vaccine can also help prevent you from getting seriously ill, even if you do.”
It is not yet clear whether any of the four infections involved newer variants of the virus from the UK, South Africa or Brazil.
OHA is currently trying to obtain samples from these patients and sending them to the CDC for testing under a genomic surveillance program.
Authorities hope to have data on available cases by this week
In addition, the health authority announced on Friday that it increased the number of people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon and the number of doses sent to the state.
However, several vaccine sites were forced to close Friday and Saturday due to snow and ice.
Currently, 10 percent of Oregon’s population has received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, an average of between 1.6 and 1.7 million Americans are being vaccinated every day
A total of 38.2 million Americans – 11.6% of the population – received at least one dose, while 14 million – 4.2% – received both doses
‘Although vaccines are still scarce, they are becoming more widely available. More Oregon residents are being vaccinated every day, ‘said Sidelinger.
Health officials announced on Friday that the weekly allocation of Oregon’s first doses is increasing again, from 75,000 to 82,000.
“These additional doses will help to ensure that our schedules stay up to date and we can even get through our population of older adults earlier, but it is still too early to say,” said Allen.
In the USA, more than 70 million doses have been sent to the states and more than 52.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
A total of 38.2 million Americans – 11.6 percent of the population – received at least one dose, while 14 million – 4.2 percent – received both doses.
Currently, an average of 1.6 to 1.7 million people are vaccinated every day.
Health officials say they want to reiterate the importance of getting vaccinated as soon as doses are available.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks of obtaining COVID-19 ‘, general surgeon D. Mary Giswold told the AP.