What We Know About The New CDC Data On COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Cases

Americans have received mostly good news on the COVID-19 front in recent months. Consider that according to NPR, 153 million people are fully vaccinated, which accounts for over 46 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, AP News reports nearly all deaths from the virus are unvaccinated individuals at this point, making an even stronger argument in favor of getting immunized. Now, we await kids under age 12 being cleared to get vaccinated, with HealthyChildren.org noting clinical trials are currently underway.

Still, not everything is perfect when it comes to the pandemic picture. Certainly you've heard of breakthrough infections. This is when a fully vaccinated person tests positive for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control. While at first this seemed to be a rare phenomenon, now the CDC is providing actual, hard data about how many breakthrough cases they have seen — and believe it or not, while at first, the number may seem shocking, it's actually in keeping with the good news trend.

According to Fox News, the CDC is aware of 4,115 breakthrough infections of COVID-19 that resulted in hospitalizations or deaths — although some were reportedly asymptomatic or not related to the virus. Interestingly, nearly half of those infections were among women, and three quarters involved Americans ages 65 or older, according to the outlet.

As CNBC reports, a total of 750 people died from COVID-19 after getting vaccinated. This may sound like a high number, but remember, 153 million Americans have been vaccinated at this juncture.

To put it in ever sharper perspective, consider the words of Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California San Francisco, who told CNBC, "You are just as likely to be killed by a meteorite as die from Covid after a vaccine. In the big scheme of things, the vaccines are tremendously powerful."

It's important to note the CDC is not aware of every breakthrough case.