The number of infections worldwide is on the increase, and with it, the number of vaccine breakthroughs. However, it is not only the rising rate of infection that is the root cause of this, but also the waning effect of the vaccines themselves. Nevertheless, individuals without any form of immunization are significantly less protected against COVID‑19 disease, and the mRNA booster jabs seem to be delivering on their promise of offering almost complete protection. There are multiple factors at play here that will continue to occupy our attention this winter. In the meantime, this is how we see the current situation. How prevalent are vaccine breakthroughs, and has their number increased? The number of vaccine breakthroughs worldwide is increasing. All manufacturers and vaccines are affected. A vaccine breakthrough occurs when a fully vaccinated person contracts a coronavirus infection with clinical symptoms. According to the weekly report issued by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 95,487 fully vaccinated persons in Germany, have already been infected with the coronavirus since February. In the week of 27th September ‑ 24 October alone, almost 41,000 vaccine breakthroughs occurred among 18- to 59-year-olds. Measured across the entire period since the start of the vaccination campaign in Germany, the percentage of vaccine breakthroughs among symptomatic COVID‑19 cases in this age group has risen to 10.9. However, if we look only at the last four weeks, the ratio is significantly higher at 37.5 percent. Increases can also be observed in the over‑60s age group, where the percentage of vaccine breakthroughs among symptomatic COVID‑19 cases is 16.1 for the period since the start of the vaccination campaign. And when we take the figures from only the last four weeks, this percentage increases to 58.9. Other European health authorities are also reporting that, in some regions, half of the new infections are among the fully vaccinated, and the trend is unfortunately upwards. According to the UK government, four out of ten new hospital patients currently being admitted for coronavirus infection have been vaccinated. In the USA, breakthrough infections were studied in six states – California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia – as the authorities there collect the most detailed data on the disease. Whether their findings can be extrapolated to the entire USA is therefore unclear, but breakthrough infections in those six states accounted for 18 to 28 percent of registered cases during September. Among those who had been vaccinated, Johnson & Johnson recipients displayed slightly higher rates of vaccine breakthrough and of related deaths. Additionally, those vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech had slightly higher rates than recipients of Moderna, which can most likely be attributed to dosage differences.
