Coronavirus variants might be responsible for “breakthrough cases” of COVID-19 among the vaccinated, according to new research, raising concerns about the spread of the mutated virus.
A breakthrough case is one in which a person who has been fully vaccinated still gets infected with the virus.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that breakthrough cases in a Kentucky skilled nursing facility were caused by the R.1 variant.
In March, 26 residents and 20 staff members who were in the skilled nursing facility were infected with COVID-19. Eighteen of the residents had been fully vaccinated, as had four staff. One resident died from the infection.
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Genomic sequencing found that the virus was the R.1 variant, which has multiple spike mutations.
Experts have warned that variants may be able to evade vaccine antibodies, thereby causing at least some breakthrough cases.
“One of the important things that will be done and must be done is to sequence the genome of the virus that’s the breakthrough virus,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said.
A recent study in Israel found that the South African variant was able to elude the Pfizer vaccine, although the study was criticized for having a small sample.
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Breakthrough cases are rare, and vaccines do provide substantial levels of protection. Many of the infected residents and staff in the Kentucky facility were not vaccinated. Infection rates were three times higher in the unvaccinated residents and over four times as high in unvaccinated staff.
