Less Than 1 Percent Of COVID Breakthrough Cases Linked To NJ Vaccinated Residents

NEW JERSEY — With less than 1 percent of breakthrough COVID-19 cases linked to fully vaccinated New Jersey residents, Gov. Phil Murphy says the vaccine "continues to prove to be highly effective."

Murphy said that just over 5.7 million New Jersey residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of those residents, there have been 44,955 total breakthrough cases or 0.78 percent linked to the fully vaccinated.

"What hasn't changed is the fact that the vaccine continues to prove to be highly effective in not only slowing the spread of the virus but preventing those who do test positive from developing a case of COVID that would land them in the hospital or worse yet — kill them," said Murphy during a press conference on Monday.

Here is a breakdown of the breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated from Jan. 19 to Oct. 25:

• 5,768,483 total fully vaccinated individuals
• 44,955 total breakthrough cases (0.78%)
• 1,002 fully vaccinated individuals requiring hospitalization for COVID (0.02%)
• 258 COVID-related deaths among fully vaccinated (0.004%)

BREAKTHROUGH CASES UPDATE:

From 1/19 – 10/25:
➡️5,768,483 total fully vaccinated individuals
➡️44,955 total breakthrough cases (0.78%)
➡️1,002 fully vaccinated individuals requiring hospitalization for COVID (0.02%)
➡️258 COVID-related deaths among fully vaccinated (0.004%) pic.twitter.com/l22LGOOyYG
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) November 8, 2021

Looking at the recent numbers from Oct. 17 to Oct. 24, fully vaccinated individuals accounted for:

• 1,924 positive tests (Statewide Total: 11,615)
• 29 COVID-related hospitalizations (Reported Statewide COVID+ Hospitalizations: 762)
• 0 COVID-related deaths (Statewide Total: 132)

"Across the board, the overwhelming majority of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to be from among the distinct minority of residents who remain unvaccinated," said Murphy.

Murphy also announced the latest in-school transmission rate. On Monday, 11 new COVID-19 outbreaks were reported between Oct. 16 to Nov. 1 with 68 new positive coronavirus cases reported in students and 11 in staff members.

Cumulatively, since the beginning of the school year, there have been 148 total outbreaks with 681 students and 113 staff affected.

To qualify as a COVID-19 outbreak in a school there have to be three cases connected and not from the same household.

Murphy noted that when New Jersey residents look at the numbers they should keep in mind that the state has more than 3,500 schools statewide serving more than 1.5 million students.

"We would never, never, ever minimize any of these cases. Every one case is one case too many," said Murphy. "These overall numbers are proving the multi-layer approach to safety is working and can only be enhanced through vaccination."

Federal regulators approved coronavirus vaccines for kids between the ages of 5 and 11 and shots last week. Read More: Should NJ Kids Under 12 Get The COVID-19 Vaccine? Take Our Survey

Thus far, 9,116 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have received their first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved for that age group, state officials said.

This amounts to 1.2 percent of the 760,000 children ages 5 to 11 in New Jersey who have begun to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said during a news conference on Monday.

To find a vaccine location click here.

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