246 Michiganders With Full Vaccinations Got COVID-19: State

LANSING, MI — Nearly 250 people in Michigan contracted the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the cases represent a tiny proportion of those vaccinated, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services officials confirmed Tuesday.

According to MDHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin, the state has identified 246 fully vaccinated people who contracted COVID-19 in Michigan through March 30. The people who tested positive had a positive COVID-19 virus test 14 or more days after their last dose in the vaccine series, Sutfin said.

"A number of these are new cases that have been reported to MDSS as a result of a positive test, but local health departments are either early in their investigation or have yet to begin their case investigation," Sutfin told Patch on Tuesday.

Sutfin noted that more than 1.7 million Michigan residents have completed their COVID-19 vaccination, meaning the recent report represents .0001 percent of those vaccinated.

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The story was first reported Tuesday by Kristen Jordan Shamus of The Detroit Free Press.

Some people who tested positive for the coronavirus may have been excluded from the list due to continuing to test positive from a recent infection before being fully vaccinated, Sutfin said. Each of the cases is undergoing further review to determine if it meets other Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for determination of potential "breakthrough," including the absence of a positive antigen or PCR test less than 45 days prior to the post-vaccination positive test.

A breakthrough is when someone is vaccinated against the coronavirus but still tests positive. The vaccines are highly effective, according to a recent study performed by Yale Medicine, which found that Pfizer (95 percent), Moderna (94.1 percent) and Johnson & Johnson (72 percent) still have room for error.

"Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are considered 95 percent and 94 percent effective, respectively, which means that while it is significantly less likely, it is still possible to contract the virus after being vaccinated," Sutfin said. "Studies indicate that even if vaccinated people do become ill, they are far less likely to experience severe illness requiring hospitalization or resulting in death.

"But the possibility of infection and further transmission is why we continue to encourage Michiganders to take precautions while out in public — including wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing — even after receiving the vaccine, until more Michiganders have been able to be vaccinated."

According to the CDC, the risk of infection is reduced by 90 percent two or more weeks after a person received their second dose of vaccination. The risk of COVID-19 infection is reduced by 80 percent two or more weeks after one dose of vaccine.

Read More: Michigan Surpasses 700,000 Coronavirus Cases On Monday

Of the 246 reported breakthrough cases, Sutfin said, 117 have data entered about hospitalization status and 129 of the cases were incomplete. Of the 117 with hospitalization data entered, 11 were hospitalized, 103 were not hospitalized and three are reported as unknown, Sutfin said.

Three people included in the list of breakthrough cases died, Sutfin said, adding they were all 65 or older. Two of them were past three weeks of completing their vaccination.

"While the majority of the population develops full immunity within 14 days of completion of their vaccine series, a small proportion appear to take longer to mount a full antibody response," Sutfin said. "CDC is actively working to better understand the risk characteristics of this group.

"It is important to reiterate that, while the overall numbers of potential breakthrough cases are low, the proportions of those symptomatic, hospitalized, and who died are all lower than those who are unvaccinated."