Deaths from new COVID-19 strain rise

Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·3 min read

Jul. 16—BOSTON — Amid rising concerns over highly contagious strains of COVID-19, state health officials have reported nearly 80 deaths from "breakthrough" cases involving people who were fully vaccinated against the virus.

At least 4,300 breakthrough cases have been reported in Massachusetts as of July 10, according to the Department of Public Health. Of those, at least 79 people who were vaccinated died from COVID-19, the agency said.

At least 303 people — or 6.8% of the breakthrough cases — were hospitalized, according to DPH.

The agency notes most cases were not severe and account for a fraction of more than 4.1 million people in the state who've been fully vaccinated.

"Given the high vaccination rates in Massachusetts, we expect to have some vaccine breakthrough cases," DPH said in a statement. "All available data continue to support that all three vaccines used in the U.S. are highly protective against severe disease and death from all known variants of COVID-19."

Health experts note that while COVID-19 vaccines are effective — preventing infection in between 86% and 95% of people who get the shots — some people inevitably get sick and even die.

"The vaccines are highly effective and reduce the risk, but they don't completely eliminate it," said Dr. David Hamer, an infectious disease expert and professor at Boston University's School of Public Health and School of Medicine.

Hamer said numbers of COVID-19 infections have ticked up slightly in recent weeks — averaging about 200 new cases a day in Massachusetts — which is much lower than during the height of the pandemic but is still cause for concern.

He said those concerns have heightened with the more transmissible delta variant spreading among the unvaccinated. The highly contagious mutation of the coronavirus originated in India but has spread to at least 80 countries.

"The limited information we have suggests that delta is becoming the dominant strain, and it is much more transmissible," Hamer said. "So I think people need to continue to take precautions, even if they're vaccinated, such as wearing masks indoors in crowded places where there's poor ventilation."

DPH didn't release additional details about the breakthrough infections and fatalities, such as the ages or ethnicities of those infected.

But the agency noted that during the pandemic, "people who died of COVID-19 were most likely to be older, and that continues to be true with breakthrough cases."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 10,200 breakthrough cases nationwide as of the end of April.

But in May the agency shifted its focus to investigating only severe breakthrough cases. Of those reported to date, it has identified about 5,186 cases, including 988 deaths.

"There will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19," the CDC said in an advisory. "But vaccine breakthrough cases occur in only a small percentage of vaccinated people."

Many of the individuals who died after being vaccinated were already hospitalized and or had pre-existing conditions that contributed to their death, the CDC said.

The federal agency, which is tracking how well the COVID-19 vaccines work, points out that because many breakthrough cases involve asymptomatic individuals, the number of actual cases may be higher than reported.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group's newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@northofboston.com