COVID-19 Breakthrough Cases Climbing in Connecticut

CONNECTICUT — When the fully vaccinated host Sunny Hostin and guest host Ana Navarro were ushered off the set of The View mid-show on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, theirs became the highest profile breakthrough cases to date.

The TV hosts will likely be just fine, as "they were vaccinated up the wazoo," according to one of their colleagues. But the publicly available health data hint Hostin and Navarro won't be the last people you hear about hit with a breakthrough case.

These cases occur when someone contracts COVID-19 at least two full weeks after having received the final dose of the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only tracking breakthrough cases that result in hospitalization or death. The vast majority of these do not require hospitalizations. In fact, one of the hallmarks of most breakthrough cases has been milder symptoms.

...which does not mean you can't die from breakthrough COVID-19.

There have been 98 coronavirus-related deaths among the 12,627 breakthrough cases reported in Connecticut. These deaths represent 9.4 percent of all COVID-19 deaths since Feb. 9, according to the DPH report. Nearly 80 percent of the fatalities have been among patients 75 years of age and older.

From the start of the pandemic through Wednesday, of the 2,328,111 people in Connecticut who have completed their vaccine series, 0.54 percent have contracted the virus, up 0.05 percent from last week's report.

Of the 2,069 coronavirus cases recorded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health in the most recent 7-day reporting period, 1,408 were not fully vaccinated. The remainder, 661, or 31.9 percent, had completed their vaccine series. The number of the fully vaccinated in Connecticut contracting the virus went up 2.2 percent over the past week.

In neighboring New York, residents have been faring slightly worse. As of data released through Sept. 20, the New York State Department of Health is aware of 78,416 laboratory-confirmed breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among fully-vaccinated people in New York State, which corresponds to 0.7 percent of the population of fully-vaccinated people 12-years or older. There have been 5,555 New Yorkers hospitalized with COVID-19 among fully-vaccinated people, or 0.05 percent of the population of fully-vaccinated people 12-years or older.

Massachusetts is in the general neighborhood of New York and Connecticut. That state's Health Department is reporting that Bay State breakthrough cases are making up about 35 percent of its total cases. Overall, 32,345 fully vaccinated people have tested positive for the virus, or 0.71 percent of the more than 4.5 million fully vaccinated Massachusetts residents.

Nationwide, as of Sept. 20, 4,493 fully vaccinated people have died as a result of the virus, up from 3,040 reported the previous week by the CDC. Eighty-six percent of them have been age 65 or older. The CDC is also reporting there have been 14,643 hospitalizations of fully vaccinated people in the same time period, and 69 percent of those are 65 or older.

Canaan leads all Connecticut communities in vaccinations, having vaccinated 100 percent of its residents as of Sept. 22.

The chart above shows the "relative risk," or the difference in risk of dying, when comparing rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. That number has been diminishing. The latest data show unvaccinated residents have a 6-times higher risk of dying from the coronavirus, compared to the vaccinated. But last week the unvaccinated were at an 8-times greater risk.

Although coronavirus deaths in Connecticut have declined markedly since February, it is important to note that death — and hospitalization — rates have consistently been higher among unvaccinated persons compared to fully vaccinated persons.

This week, the state Department of Public Health has reported 36 new deaths. Last week, DPH reported 31 news deaths. To date, 8,483. Connecticut residents have died from COVID-19-associated illness.

The daily coronavirus positivity rate in Connecticut has dropped below 3 percent for the first time since July.

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