Vancouver Coastal Health gives out stickers with COVID-19 vaccines.
At least 10,000 people in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, a new American Centers for Disease Control report says. The data is as of April 30 and is likely a “substantial undercount” because the data relies on voluntary reporting. Still, it’s a small percentage of the 101 million Americans who were fully vaccinated by April 30, which is the cut-off date for the report.
Of the 10,262 cases, 63 per cent were in women and the median age was 58 years old, the report says. Nearly one-third of these breakthrough cases were asymptomatic, but 10 per cent resulted in hospitalization and two per cent caused the death of the infected person. The median age of those who died was 82 years old. Sixty-four per cent of the breakthrough cases were caused by variants of concern.
In B.C., through the end of May, there were 2,620 breakthrough COVID-19 cases among people who had been vaccinated with one dose, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer. Of those, 268 people were hospitalized and 65 people died. Most of the deaths were in people older than 80, Dr. Henry said.
Explaining the likelihood of a breakthrough infection, Dr. Henry said the rate of COVID-19 among unvaccinated people at the end of may was 86 cases per 100,000 people. After one vaccine dose, the rate went down to 29 cases per 100,000 people and after dose two the rate went down to 15 cases per 100,000 people.
“While the risk goes down dramatically (with vaccination), it’s not zero,” she said.
As we head into summer, B.C.’s pandemic experience is calming down – we’re averaging less than 100 cases a day and hospitalizations and deaths are also decreasing.
It’s expected that B.C. will move to step three of its reopening plan next week on July 1. Step three means a return to normal in terms of gatherings, both indoor and outside, a return to travel within Canada, casinos and nightclubs will be able to reopen, all indoor fitness classes can resume and spectators can now watch indoor sports.
But, of course, the variants still pose a risk.
“There are a couple of threats I’m watching really carefully,” Dr. Henry said. “It’s not like they’re an alien virus in space that we can shoot down, they are viruses circulating between people. … We’ve seen it can take off with the non-vaccinated people quite quickly and that is the challenge with the Delta variant is that it is more transmissible.”
Full genome sequencing is now happening for every positive case, Dr. Henry said, and public health is carefully monitoring which strains are circulating.
It appears the pandemic is on the wane in B.C., but it’s still important to use common sense (and PPE!) to prevent outbreaks.
Here is the rest of the news from this week:
- More than 1,200 Americans have had heart problems after vaccination with Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, the New York Times reports. The risk is higher after second doses and more men than women have been affected.
- The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21 and work is underway to implement a national vaccine certificate by the fall, the Globe and Mail reports.
- The COVID-19 Delta variant first discovered in India is becoming dominant worldwide, Reuters reports.
- As of July 5, fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer have to quarantine upon arriving back in Canada after travel, the CBC reports. They will still have to show negative COVID-19 test results.
- As the United States is coming out of the pandemic, thousands of people have decided to quit their jobs, the New York Times reports.
- The president of the Philippines is threatening to put people who refuse COVID-19 vaccines, the Globe and Mail reports.
- COVID-19 is surging in some parts of Africa, due to the Delta variant.
- A risk-assessment tool for people who are fully vaccinated will be coming soon in Canada, the Globe and Mail reports.
- The World Health Organization predicts that people who are most vulnerable will need annual COVID-19 booster shots, Reuters reports.
Next week is a controversial holiday – Canada Day – and some groups have called for its cancellation, particularly after the discovering of the remains of 215 dead Indigenous children on the grounds of a residential school in Kamloops. I’m hopeful we can use the day to reflect and learn about our history. It’s possible we will also be moving onto the next phase of reopening, which will mean a very bright summer indeed.
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