FACT BRIEF

Are the majority of infections by the delta variant of the coronavirus among the vaccinated?

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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Coronavirus infections among the unvaccinated far outnumber “breakthrough” infections among fully vaccinated people. “Almost all (more than 9 in 10) COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have occurred among people who are unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated,” KFF reported on July 30.

KFF, a nonprofit focused on health-related policy and analysis, provides the best-available data, based on figures from December 2020 to July 2021 from the 25 states that track breakthrough infections of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Infections among the vaccinated were “below 1% in all reporting states,” KFF found. Hospitalization and death rates among the vaccinated were “effectively zero” in all but a few states.

No vaccine offers 100% protection. KFF notes that as more people become vaccinated, the relative number of cases among the vaccinated may rise, for the simple reason that “there will be fewer unvaccinated people in the population.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

KFF COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases: Data from the states

Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 breakthrough case investigations and reporting

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