FDA: Only 0.0013% of vaccine recipients get 'breakthrough' COVID-19 infection

Less than 1% of more than 9.1 million individuals who had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the start of August experienced a breakthrough infection, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday.

A COVID-19 infection is considered a “breakthrough” if it occurs more than 14 days after receipt of the second dose.

At a health department forum, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said only 0.0013% or 116 breakthrough cases were recorded out of 9,115,963 fully vaccinated individuals as of August 1.

Among the 116 breakthrough cases, only one fatality was recorded. Domingo said the patient was an elderly male who died of COVID-19.

Domingo said there were 91 breakthrough cases among individuals fully vaccinated with Sinovac, 24 among AstraZeneca recipients, and one among Pfizer recipients. No breakthrough infections had so far been recorded from other brands.

Domingo underscored that this was because Sinovac and AstraZeneca are the most widely used and available vaccines.

“Wala naman talagang 100% na efficacy na vaccine. It really depends on each and every person. Hindi tayo kasi lahat pare-pareho rin ang level ng reaction natin sa bakuna at ‘yung level ng immunogenicity na nage-generate ng ating katawan,” he said.

(There is no vaccine with 100% efficacy. It really depends on each and every person. We don’t all have the same reaction to the vaccine and the level of immunogenicity generated by our bodies differs.)

Domingo stressed that while vaccines are not 100% effective, they still generate some degree of resistance to COVID-19.

“There will always be breakthrough cases kahit ano pong bakuna at hindi lang po sa bakuna sa COVID kundi sa lahat ng bakuna, sa lahat ng sakit,” he added.

(There will always be breakthrough cases regardless of the vaccine, not just with COVID-19 vaccines but with all vaccines for all illnesses.)

Other infections

Meanwhile, Domingo reported that out of 11,747,581 individuals who had received at least one dose as of August 1, 546 got COVID-19 after their first shot and 51 were infected after their second jab.

Another 22 individuals whose vaccination data was incomplete also contracted COVID-19.

Out of all these cases, 64 people died.

The Philippines has fully vaccinated over 12 million people as of August 12, which is 17% of the country’s 70-million target population. — MDM/RSJ, GMA News