3 Hawaii residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are infected with the coronavirus

At least three people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Hawaii were later infected with the virus. The Department of Health calls it break through cases. 

Doctors KITV4 spoke with said they're not surprised and people should not be alarmed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, current vaccines are between 66 and 95 percent effective. Physicians say the vaccine doesn't prevent infection but it does lower the risk hospitalization and severe symptoms.

One break through case involved a healthcare worker who visited multiple cities in the U.S. then tested positive after returning to Oahu. Dr. Melinda Ashton, Chief Quality Officer with Hawaii Pacific Health says that's an example of why traveling may increase risk of infection. 

"Absolutely you need to be careful during those times when you’re in the airport, on the airplane, with other people in larger groups," Ashton said.

Only five people across the state are currently in an ICU bed with the coronavirus. At its peak last September, it was as high as 65. Dr. Julius Pham, chair of the COVID-19 committee at Queen's Medical Center, believes it's a clear sign vaccines offer protection against hospitalization. 

"We haven't seen those type of numbers since early early in the pandemic," Pham said. "We're still having about 50-60 cases per day in the state but our hospitalization numbers are down more than the rate of infection in the state."

A common question still being asked about the vaccines? Are people diagnosed with COVID-19 after vaccination, more or less infectious. 

"Overtime, as more people get vaccinated, we have more time under our belt with this vaccine, we have a better idea of how long the protection lasts," Dr. Michael Walter, Kalihi-Palama Health Center, said. 

According to the health department, the fully vaccinated individuals who tested positive did not become severely ill and none of them are known to have transmitted the virus.

The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) has announced three cases in which a fully vaccinated person contracted COVID-19. The DOH said, fully vaccinated means the person received both doses of the Moderna and/or Pfizer vaccine.

A partially vaccinated resident also recently caught the U.K. variant, also referred to as B.1.1.7. 

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“This number is not outside what we would expect with nearly 165,000 people in Hawai‘i who are fully vaccinated,” the DOH wrote in an email on Friday, March 12.  

“Remember, 95% of people get immunity from the vaccines and 5% don’t from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine,” explained Lt. Gov. Dr. Josh Green. “So one out of 20 people could still not have immunity and therefore catch COVID.” 

KHON2 asked a doctor at Queen’s Health Systems if there were studies to indicate who might be more likely to catch COVID if vaccinated. There is not, unfortunately.  

“The newest studies suggest that we have a higher protection for hospitalization so that even those that do get infected, it’s either a mild infection, as opposed to a severe or critical infection,” explained Dr. Julius Pham, Queen’s Health Systems COVID-19 committee chair. 

On Thursday, March 11, the DOH said a healthcare worker traveled one month after receiving both vaccine doses. The person and their travel partner had no symptoms and took the pre-travel test to come home. They did not get the test results until they landed, where they learned they were positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing revealed no one else was infected.  

DOH officials also confirmed a partially vaccinated resident caught the U.K. variant earlier in the week of Monday, March 8.

Dr. Pham said, it is important for people to wait two to three weeks after receiving their doses.  

“So until that time, you have to be just as careful as you were before,” explained Dr. Pham. “You never know if you’re going to be that 5%.” 

The DOH said, it is important to keep case numbers low. “The lower the prevalence of COVID in the community, the lower the chance any of us – even those who have been vaccinated – will be infected,” the e-mail stated.  

Dr. Pham said, newer studies indicate vaccinated people might not be a carrier of COVID-19 but others said it is still too early to tell.  

“If somebody is exposed to a high amount of virus, then you can still develop an upper respiratory tract infection,” explained Dr. Axel Lehrer, UH Vaccinologist. “But, the person would not notice anything and that’s why it’s so important to keep on masking up.” 

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The DOH says none of the vaccinated people who caught COVID-19 became severely ill and they did not transmit it to anyone else.  

“Some people are going to dive on to this and say, oh, then the vaccine doesn’t work. No, it does work. It works in a huge percentage of people, but not everyone and that’s an important message,” Lt. Gov. Green added.