Examining who experiences rare breakthrough COVID-19 infections after vaccination can help improve our understanding of who is vulnerable and whether variants are at play, but these thorough investigations are often not occuring, according to an investigative report ProPublica published April 14.
Very few Americans have contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated — just 5,800 out of nearly 77 million as of April 14. While breakthrough cases are rare, public health officials said it's still important to study them to understand who is at risk or if there are any geographic patterns. These infections can also sound the alarm if a new variant emerges that is more resistant to COVID-19 vaccines, experts said.
ProPublica said efforts to investigate these breakthrough cases are often inadequate. The publication's findings are based on interviews with patients and state health department data obtained via information requests.
Four takeaways:
1. Nationwide, there is a lack of standardization among states tracking these cases, the report found. Among the states that do track the rare cases, it's unknown whether they're reporting data on the severity of the cases, the report stated. For example, Michigan has reported 246 infections and three deaths between January and March among 1.7 million fully vaccinated people. About half of those cases lack complete info about whether the individual was hospitalized, according to The Detroit News.
2. In some instances, laboratories are not performing genetic sequencing on virus samples from people with breakthrough infections to see if a variant is involved. Of the 143 breakthrough cases found in Utah, only three have been sequenced, Jenny Johnson, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Health, told ProPublica.
3. In addition, some healthcare providers aren't always collecting new patient samples or demographic information, such as whether someone has a compromised immune system, according to the report.
4. These gaps in data hinder public health officials' efforts to understand how variants may affect breakthrough cases, ProPublica said.
To view the full report, click here.