Nearly 4,000 fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts contracted the Chinese coronavirus, according to the state Department of Public Health.
There were 3,791 coronavirus cases reported as of June 12, according to reports.
“We’re learning that many of the breakthrough infections are asymptomatic or they’re very mild and brief in duration,” Boston University infectious diseases specialist Davidson Hamer said, according to the Boston Herald. “The viral load is not very high.”
Breakthroughs, he continued, are “expected,” but he said, “We need to better understand who’s at risk and whether people who have a breakthrough can transmit the virus to others.”
“In some cases, they’ll be shedding such low levels of the virus and won’t be transmitting to others,” he continued.
Because the vaccines are not 100 percent effective, “a small percentage of fully vaccinated people” will “still get sick,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said:
COVID-19 vaccines are effective. However, a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated will still get COVID-19 if they are exposed to the virus that causes it. These are called “vaccine breakthrough cases.” This means that while people who have been vaccinated are much less likely to get sick, it may still happen. Experts continue to study how common these cases are.
Large-scale clinical studies found that COVID-19 vaccination prevented most people from getting COVID-19. Research also provides growing evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines offer similar protection in real world conditions. While these vaccines are effective, no vaccine prevents illness 100 percent of the time. For any vaccines, there are breakthrough cases. With effectiveness of 90 percent or higher, a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will still get sick and some may be hospitalized or die from COVID-19. It’s also possible that some fully vaccinated people might have infections, but not have symptoms (asymptomatic infections).
This month, two passengers aboard a “fully vaccinated” Celebrity Cruises ship tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus. The cases were discovered as a result of the required end-of-cruise testing.
“Today, two guests sharing a stateroom onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19 while conducting the required end-of-cruise testing,” the cruise line said in a statement.
“We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts and closely monitoring the situation,” the cruise line continued:
Celebrity Millennium is sailing with fully vaccinated crew and guests and following comprehensive protocols that align with our destination partners and exceed CDC guidelines to protect the health and safety of our guests,” it continued, noting that all guests aboard the ship were required to show not only proof of vaccination but provide a negative coronavirus test “within 72 hours before sailing from St. Maarten this past Saturday.
“This situation demonstrates that our rigorous health and safety protocols work to protect our crew, guests and the communities we visit,” the cruise line added, although it remains unclear how the “rigorous” protocols fully worked given the two positive cases of the virus.
Similarly, Royal Caribbean last week delayed the Odyssey of the Seas’ inaugural sail out of Fort Lauderdale after eight partially vaccinated crew members tested positive for the virus.