'Breakthrough' infections increasing in NC, but vaccinated people much less likely to be hospitalized, die

A bar graph in the report clearly shows a dramatic jump in breakthrough infections since early July, but it's impossible to determine the magnitude of the increase without the underlying numbers.

But the 22,555 breakthrough cases this year represents only 4 percent of the state's total caseload since the beginning of January. DHHS spokeswoman Bailey Pennington also said in a recent email to WRAL News that only 12 percent of cases between May 6 – when half of adults statewide had at least one vaccine dose – and Aug. 13 were in people who were fully vaccinated.

"Although we continue to see stable and highly effective protection against hospitalizations and severe outcomes for people who are fully vaccinated, we are seeing a decrease in vaccine effectiveness against infection with the Delta variant," the DHHS report states.

"The vaccine isn’t a force field," agrees Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease expert with UNC Health, adding that it does lessen the symptoms for anyone who does contract COVID-19.

The DHHS report states that unvaccinated individuals were 3.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 and 4.6 times more likely to die of the illness as vaccinated individuals.

"The vaccinated people, they’re like A students at getting rid of the virus," Wohl said. "Their immune systems have been trained and primed to do it. They're armed and ready."

Overall, North Carolina is averaging 37 deaths per day from the virus. Also, more than 3,300 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide on Tuesday, the highest total in seven months.

As of Aug. 5, a total of 523 vaccinated people had been hospitalized with COVID-19, Pennington said in her email. No updated figures were available Tuesday.

Fifty-nine percent of people age 18 or older in North Carolina are fully vaccinated, while another 5 percent have had one dose of the vaccine, according to DHHS data.

Despite receiving the Pfizer vaccine in January, Lindsey Patterson is currently on her sixth day of battling the virus.

"It's been a really big wake up call for me," she said.

Patterson said she believes she was infected with the virus at a housewarming party she attended.

"When you're with your friends and you're like, 'Yeah, we've been safe,' you do loosen up with those types of boundaries," she said. "We still need to be careful, [and] we still need to be cognizant of our surroundings."

In addition to getting vaccinated, he also is urging people to wear masks indoors again, not only to protect themselves but others as well, especially children under 12 who aren’t able to get vaccinated.