A man who had been fully vaccinated has died from COVID-related complications.
Discover our latest podcast
Health officials at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department said ‘breakthrough infection’ resulted in the demise of the 76-year-old man—the first of such recorded in the county.
Local news media reported that the man had underlying health conditions prior to taking the vaccine and had passed away at a medical facility.
Breakthrough Infection
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a breakthrough infection as the detection of COVID-19 in person at least two weeks after they are fully vaccinated.
Local media reported that so far, there have been some 31 vaccine breakthrough deaths in West Virginia since the beginning of the vaccine rollout programme.
This figure represents 1.3 per cent of coronavirus deaths in the state.
A good number of these breakthrough cases are believed to be driven largely by the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Get vaccinated
Health authorities are encouraging more people to get vaccinated regardless as ‘vaccine breakthrough cases are expected’.
Director of the health department where this latest death was recorded, Dr Sherri Young said the sad incident should not undermine faith in the COVID-19 vaccines.
On its website, the CDC stressed that:
Covid-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control.
The agency however indicated that:
No vaccines are 100 percent effective at preventing illness in vaccinated people.There will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from Covid-19.
