MILWAUKEE — As Wisconsin continues to battle rising COVID-19 numbers, one doctor is focusing on breakthrough cases among those who are vaccinated.
Spectrum News 1 talked about these breakthrough cases with Dr. Joseph A. McBride, assistant professor of adult and pediatric infectious disease at UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
"Breakthrough cases are possible, and experts expect to see them in this anti-viral strategy,” said McBride.
A breakthrough COVID-19 infection is defined as the detection of the virus – its RNA or antigen – in a saliva test or nasal swab collected from a person who is fully vaccinated, meaning they completed all recommended doses of a COVID-19 vaccine more than 14 days prior to detection, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Vaccination remains the most effective and safe tool to protect ourselves against the virus," McBride said. "What makes the vaccine such a strong defense against the virus is how well it protects a person from being hospitalized or dying from a COVID-19 infection, and the data reflect that."
Compared to vaccinated Wisconsinites, residents who are not fully vaccinated saw hospitalization rates that were 3.7 times higher and death rates that were 11 times higher in July, per data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Unvaccinated Wisconsin residents were nearly three times as likely to test positive for the virus as well.