37 Breakthrough Deaths Reported in Alaska

The State of Alaska released its August 2021 report of COVID-19 cases, examining multiple facets of the ongoing pandemic's effects, reported Kortnie Horazdovsky with Alaska News Service.

Many people are concerned about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines due to the increasing number of vaccine breakthrough cases, which are when fully vaccinated people become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus again.

According to the Alaska Division of Public Health's report, 33.6% of all Alaska COVID-19 cases during August 2021 were due to vaccine breakthroughs.

This new data reflects an increase from July when 29.6% of all cases occurred in fully vaccinated people.

However, the vast majority of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are still among unvaccinated people.

As of October 3, 2021, among cases with specimen collection dates during or before August 2021, thirty-seven COVID-19 deaths were documented among fully vaccinated persons.

During that same period, eighty-six COVID-19 deaths occurred in unvaccinated persons, and three COVID-19 deaths occurred in partially vaccinated persons.

Accounting for age, calendar day, and region, unvaccinated persons died from COVID-19 at 9.8 times the rate of fully vaccinated persons (95% CI: 6.1, 15.7).

Moreover, these numbers may change as death certificates are completed and processed, says the State.

The most significant differences in COVID-19 case incidence rates between unvaccinated and fully vaccinated persons were observed for the Moderna-SpikeVax vaccine, followed by the Pfizer-Comirnaty and Janssen vaccines.

For all three brands of vaccine, this analysis indicates that protective immunity against COVID-19 decreases over time.

In summary, Alaska says, 'COVID-19 vaccines continue to be our single most important tool to prevent COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.'