SARS-COV-2 Vaccine Breakthrough Surveillance and Case Information Resource, Washington

TARGET GROUP: PUBLIC

OBJECTIVES

·  To identify cases by matching Washington Immunization Information Systems (IIS) data with new positive COVID tests to identify confirmed breakthrough cases.

·        To review and incorporate methodologies on an ongoing basis to enhance its COVID-19-related data, including for breakthrough surveillance.

·        To ensure a more accurate account of the number of breakthrough cases in our state.

SUMMARY

COVID-19 vaccines are effective and critical tools to aid in the control of this pandemic. Large-scale clinical studies found that COVID-19 vaccines prevented most people from getting COVID19 illness, but like most other vaccines, they are not 100% effective. This means some fully vaccinated people will still get infected with SARS-CoV-2. These individuals may or may not develop COVID-19 symptoms. Vaccine breakthrough occurs when someone gets infected with an organism they are fully vaccinated against. For the COVID-19 vaccine, this means someone tests positive for SARS-CoV2 two weeks or more after receiving the full series of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine. Since millions of people in the United States are getting vaccinated, we expect to see some breakthrough disease. Fortunately, there is evidence from research studies that the COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of people getting really sick and needing to go to the hospital or dying from COVID-19. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is closely monitoring and investigating vaccine breakthrough cases in Washington to identify possible patterns of infection and disease in our population. The data in this report may change as we get additional information.

REFERENCE

https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/420-339-VaccineBreakthroughReport.pdf