COVID-19 Breakthrough Case Rate Doubled In Wisconsin

WISCONSIN — The rate of COVID-19 breakthrough cases in vaccinated people in Wisconsin doubled from February to July, Wisconsin Department of Health Services data showed Thursday.

Breakthrough cases happen when a fully vaccinated person tests positive for COVID-19 two weeks after they complete their final vaccine dose, health services said. Breakthrough cases usually report mild or no symptoms.

The rate of breakthrough cases more than doubled between February and July. There were 56 cases per 100,000 people in February and 125 per 100,000 cases in July, according to health services data.

Even so, data showed that the rate of breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people was very low — around 0.008 percent in California, for example — and vaccinated people who contract COVID-19 are much less likely to experience severe illness, hospitalization or death, health experts said.

Meanwhile, the rate of Wisconsin cases among those who were unvaccinated was three times as big as that among vaccinated people.

There were 386 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated people in February and 369 per 100,000 people in July, according to health services data.

The hospitalization rate among vaccinated people was 4.9 per 100,000, compared to the hospitalization rate among unvaccinated people of 18.2 per 100,000 in July.

Some 727 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the state as of Thursday, according to data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The last time hospitalizations reached 700 was in January.

Fifty percent of Wisconsin residents were fully vaccinated as of Friday.

See Also: Half Of Wisconsin Residents Vaccinated In New Milestone