SALEM, Oregon. – The Oregon Health Authority announced on Friday that it discovered the first cases of “innovative” coronaviruses known in the state – individuals who are fully vaccinated but tested positive for COVID-19.
OHA said that there are currently four such cases. All received the second dose of the vaccine at least 14 days before the test was positive.
Two of the cases are in Yamhill County and two in Lane County. OHA said it is working with local public health officials to investigate the source of these cases.
Diseases among the four cases range from asymptomatic to mild symptoms.
“Genome sequencing is ongoing and we expect results next week,” said the agency.
Innovative cases “are not unexpected,” said OHA. Clinical trials of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have resulted in some of these cases, although the severity of the illnesses tended to be reduced.
“Based on what is known about vaccines for other diseases and the initial clinical trial data, OHA experts believe that existing vaccines are very effective,” concluded the agency.
The daily number of vaccinations performed in Oregon continued to increase, with 25,772 doses added to the state’s record on Friday – most vaccinations made on Thursday. At present, a total of 649,602 first and second doses have been administered in the state, of more than 884,000 distributed in locations in Oregon.