Breakthrough cases up in Colorado, but serious illness among vaccinated remains low

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Health experts say the increase in breakthrough COVID cases does not mean the vaccine isn’t working.

Quite the opposite: The cases underscore how well the vaccines are holding up against its most formidable foe yet -- the delta variant.

“You can still get COVID ... but there is a much higher chance you would have minimal to no symptoms,” said Dr. Bill Plauth, the chief medical officer for Penrose-St. Francis Hospital.

Plauth said the numbers bear out how effective the vaccines are, even if you fall ill with the coronavirus.

“About 95 percent of those who are admitted to the hospital have not been vaccinated, so we do have some patients who have finished their full vaccination and needed to be in the hospital. But they tend to be less severe and do relatively well unless they have underlying medical issues that would lead to them being sicker.”

According to the state health department, between Jan. 1-Aug. 3, 8,300 breakthrough cases were reported in Colorado, accounting for less than 4 percent of all infections. No vaccine is full-proof, and doctors like Plauth always expected to see some vaccinated people get the virus.

“The traditional flu vaccine might only be 30-70 percent effective, and so you would absolutely expect to see breakthrough cases. With the delta variant, it’s two to three times more contagious than the other strains of COVID and we have seen more breakthrough cases.”

It’s also basic math: the more the virus circulates, the more breakthroughs are expected. El Paso County and the state as a whole are currently seeing more breakthrough cases because the region is seeing more COVID cases in general.

“If you are fully vaccinated, compared to someone who is unvaccinated, the likelihood of you passing on to someone else is remarkably reduced. It can still happen ... with the delta variant it is more transmissible but much less so than if you never got vaccinated.”

“What would you say to these people who are hearing about these breakthrough cases and are thinking, ‘Why do I even need to get vaccinated? What’s the point? I can still get it. I can skip it,’” reporter Catherine Silver asked Plauth.

“I absolutely empathize with people who can get confused from the mixed messages. But without a doubt, it’s still very important to understand that the vaccines are very protective. Not only in keeping someone from developing severe symptoms and sometimes severe enough to require hospitalization and the most serious consequences of COVID, but also to decrease the likelihood of spreading it to others.”

And that is why health experts across the country are imploring people to get vaccinated to stop this ongoing surge.