Fully Vaccinated Napa County Woman Dies From COVID-19

NAPA COUNTY, CA — A Napa County woman who was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus has died, marking the county's first such death but its 82nd coronavirus-related death, county officials said.

The woman, who was over the age of 65, died Wednesday. She suffered underlying medical conditions and died from complications of COVID-19 after a prolonged hospitalization, the county said late Thursday in a news release.

"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this individual," said Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County public health officer. "No vaccine is 100% effective, but this does not diminish the urgency and importance of getting vaccinated, especially as more variant strains emerge. Vaccines provide exceptional protection against death and illness from the virus and all residents should continue to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others."

The woman tested positive for the B117 — or UK — variant, which is more transmissible and causes more severe illness, county officials said, noting that vaccine breakthrough cases happen in a small percentage of vaccinated people.

Out of more than 71,371 fully vaccinated Napa County residents, the county has identified 32 such breakthrough cases in which fully vaccinated residents became symptomatic and tested positive for COVID-19.

"This translates to an infection rate of 0.04% among fully vaccinated residents in Napa County," said Leah Greenbaum, emergency services officer for Napa County.

"Cases of COVID-19 have declined substantially across Napa County in recent months since vaccinations became available, a testament to the tremendous efficacy of the vaccines," Greenbaum said. "However, seniors and immunosuppressed people may not mount as strong an immune response to the vaccine, underscoring the importance of increasing vaccination rates in the community. So far, 62% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in Napa County."

As of Friday, the California Department of Public Health was aware of at least 8,582 cases associated with the B.1.1.7 — or UK— variant in California and at least 5,305 Californians who contracted the coronavirus after being vaccinated; of those, at least 40 people died.

"Of these cases, we do not know if the primary cause of death was COVID-19 or if there were other contributory or alternate causes," CDPH said in an email to Patch.

Here is the complete statement from CDPH:

"Out of more than 17 million fully vaccinated individuals, there have been 5,305 post-vaccination cases identified in California between January 1, 2021 through May 26, 2021. These cases are identified by matching immunization and confirmed case records. This translates to less than 0.03% of persons vaccinated tested positive. Some post-vaccination cases are expected because no vaccine prevents 100% of disease.

"CDPH has determined that at least 373 individuals with confirmed post-vaccination COVID-19 cases were hospitalized. However, it is important to note that we are often missing data on hospitalization (approximately 50% of cases have missing hospitalization data).

"Of those 373 individuals, we do not know what proportion were hospitalized for COVID-19 symptoms or illness or were hospitalized for another reason and tested for COVID-19 upon admission.

"We are aware of at least 40 people who have died among the post-vaccination cases identified. Of these cases, we do not know if the primary cause of death was COVID-19 or if there were other contributory or alternate causes."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control did not immediately respond Friday to an emailed request for comment from Patch about the prevalence of the UK variant and the number of people nationwide who died after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.