Thread by @sailorrooscout

“Breakthrough” infections DO NOT mean vaccines don’t work. Remember, they are preventives, NOT cures. One can still contract COVID once vaccinated. As long as that vaccine is preventing you from facing severe disease and worse, it IS working and doing what it was designed to do.

The term infection refers to the virus entering and being detectable in your system regardless of whether OR NOT it makes you sick, whereas the term illness refers to the virus entering, being detectable in your system AND making you sick. It it important not to conflate the two.

The first thing to know about the COVID-19 vaccines is that they’re doing exactly what they were designed and authorized to do. Since the vaccines first started their rollout late last year, rates of COVID-19 disease have taken an unprecedented plunge among the immunized.

The second thing to know about the COVID-19 vaccines is that they’re flame retardants, not impenetrable firewalls, when it comes to the coronavirus. Some vaccinated people are still getting infected, and a small subset of these individuals is still getting sick

-and this is completely expected. “Breakthroughs” are known to occur after vaccination against other diseases, such as influenza and measles. Why? Because NO VACCINE IS 100% EFFECTIVE.

“Even the measles vaccine, which is incredibly effective, fails to protect about 3% of vaccinated individuals who are exposed to the virus. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine-hailed a medical miracle- was 80% to 90% effective at preventing paralysis caused by the polio virus.”

Measles and polio breakthrough infections aren't just rare because the vaccines are so effective but also because those who are vaccinated rarely interact with infected people. Even with highly effective vaccines for COVID-19, breakthrough infections are likely to keep happening

because the virus is so widespread and we have highly transmissible variants like Delta and Omicron. For lighter reading on the subject I suggest:
•smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
•scientificamerican.com/article/breakt…
•theatlantic.com/science/archiv…
•theatlantic.com/science/archiv…
•theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

“Breakthrough” infections typically cause mild to moderate symptoms, if one develops symptoms at all. Another benefit of vaccines is that they likely shorten the length of illness for many individuals who do become infected.

A genome sequencing study of SARS-CoV-2 in the Houston Methodist healthcare system identified 862 symptomatic patients with infections caused by Omicron from late November through December 18th, Omicron very rapidly increased in only 3 weeks to cause 90% of all new COVID-19 cases

Compared to patients infected with either Alpha OR Delta variants in their healthcare system, Omicron patients required LESS intense respiratory support AND had a SHORTER length of hospital stay, consistent with DECREASED disease severity.

THIS is why it is important to make sure you are VACCINATED. Get protected. DON’T WALK AROUND IMMUNE NAIVE. medrxiv.org/content/10.110…