A small proportion of Americans — about 5,800 out of nearly 77 million — have contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated against the infection, CDC officials told CNN.
Of the 5,800 people, 396 required hospitalization and 74 died, according to data submitted to the CDC. As of April 14, more than 76.7 million Americans are fully vaccinated. Reports on breakthrough cases lag and may not reflect the most current events.
"To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics," the CDC told CNN via email.
Breakthrough cases were reported among people of all ages eligible for vaccination, though more than 40 percent occurred in people 60 or older, the CDC said. Sixty-five percent of cases were female and 29 percent of the infections were asymptomatic.
Breakthrough infections are rare, but not unexpected. No COVID-19 vaccine receiving emergency authorization from the FDA is 100 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infection.
"Vaccine breakthrough infections make up a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated. CDC recommends that all eligible people get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to them. CDC also continues to recommend people who have been fully vaccinated should keep taking precautions in public places, like wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing their hands often," the agency said to CNN.
Experts are still working to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccines on COVID-19 variants.
For more information on breakthrough cases, click here.