Four people in Oregon, who were fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, tested positive for coronavirus, health officials said Friday.
This makes Oregon one of the first states to report “advanced cases” that occur when people test positive for the virus at least 14 days after receiving their second dose of vaccine.
Both vaccines approved for emergency use authorizations (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) are 95% effective, meaning that five percent of people who get vaccinated can still get sick, which the official says it’s serious but not surprising.
‘[This is] not to be expected in a vaccine that, while phenomenal, with 95 percent effectiveness, means five percent may still be infected, “said Dr. Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. (OHA) at a press conference on Friday
Two of the advanced cases are in Yamhill County, about 40 miles from Portland, and the other two are in Lane County, about 135 miles away.
Officials say all four people had few or no symptoms, which seem to support studies suggesting the vaccine may help reduce the severity of the disease.
Although the OHA was unable to give details of where these cases came from, their ages or when they received their last vaccine, they said 2 of the 4 cases are associated with a single location where a cluster is located.
Four people in Oregon, fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, have tested positive for coronavirus, all with mild or no symptoms. Pictured: An Oregonian age 80 or older receives vaccines against COVID-19 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on February 10th.
Both vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are 95% effective, meaning 5% of all people will get sick, so officials say there will surely be more of these “advanced cases” (in above)
At Friday’s press conference, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state health authority’s health officer, said no vaccine provides 100% protection, meaning there will be more advanced cases.
“What all this means is that we can expect to see more advanced cases,” said Dean Sidelinger, health authority for the state health authority.
‘Vaccinating as many Oregonians as possible remains a key goal in ending the pandemic.
“Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine can also help prevent you from getting seriously ill, even if you get sick.”
It is still unclear whether any of the four infections involved new variants of the virus in the United Kingdom, South Africa or Brazil.
OHA is currently trying to obtain samples from these patients and send them to the CDC for testing in a genomic surveillance program.
Officials expect to have data on cases available this week
In addition, the health authority announced Friday that the number of people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon and the number of doses being sent to the state have increased.
However, several vaccine locations were forced to close on Friday and Saturday due to the snowy and icy weather.
Currently, 10 percent of the population of Oregon has received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, an average of 1.6 to 1.7 million Americans are vaccinated every day
A total of 38.2 million Americans (11.6% of the population) have received at least one dose, while 14 million (4.2%) have received both doses.
“While they are still scarce, vaccines are becoming more available. More Oregonians are being vaccinated every day,” Sidelinger said.
Health officials announced Friday that the weekly allocation of first doses in Oregon will increase again, from 75,000 to 82,000.
“These additional doses will help ensure that our deadlines stay on track and we can even pass our large adult population sooner, but it’s still too early to tell,” Allen said.
In the United States, more than 70 million doses have been shipped to states and more than 52.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
A total of 38.2 million Americans (11.6% of the population) have received at least one dose, while 14 million (4.2%) have received both doses.
Currently, between 1.6 and 1.7 million people are vaccinated every day.
Health officials say they want to reiterate the importance of getting vaccinated as soon as the doses become available.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks of getting COVID-19,” Surgeon General D. Mary Giswold told the PA.