BATON ROUGE - As of Friday (April 2), 126 people in Louisiana were classified as having a "breakthrough" vaccine COVID case - testing positive for coronavirus after being fully vaccinated.
About half of the breakthrough cases were found during routine screening and the patients were asymptomatic at the time of the test, health officials said Friday.
A person is fully vaccinated 14 days after they've received the second of two doses or the one and only single-dose vaccine.
The 126 cases of people having contracted COVID even after being fully vaccinated is a small fraction of the number of people who have completed the vaccine series. As of the most recent data, 782,189, people have been fully vaccinated in Louisiana. The 126 people represent .02%.
"Keep in mind that these vaccines are highly effective — 95% for Pfizer, 94% for Moderna and 73% for Johnson & Johnson — and all three are 100% effective at preventing serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths," state health officials said.
"These [breakthrough] cases are exceedingly rare," state health officials added.
Data was not immediately available Friday related to specific information about the vaccines the 126 received, their ages or which areas of the state were seeing the most breakthrough cases.
"The COVID vaccines are safe and effective, and during clinical trials, COVID-positive cases were identified after a person was vaccinated in a small number of vaccinations. The trials in all three vaccines were shown to be 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death," state health officials added.
Though, the health department quantified: "No vaccine is 100% effective in 100% of circumstances and this is why building protective herd immunity through expanded community vaccination remains a goal in Louisiana and nationwide. It's also why we continue to stress that until we reach herd immunity wearing a mask and social distancing are critical tools in protecting yourself and your loved ones against COVID."
The state released the number of so-called breakthrough cases Friday, more than a week after the WBRZ Investigative Unit first asked the Department of Health for data.
"Even with these highly effective vaccines, it’s still important to practice common sense protective measures until we reach herd immunity. This includes mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing and staying home when sick. Masks are especially important due to the COVID variants circulating in the U.S. and in Louisiana," LDH said in a previous statement to WBRZ.
Click HERE to track vaccines in Louisiana.
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April 03, 2021 at 04:59AM
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126 people in La. test positive for COVID after being fully vaccinated - WBRZ
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