FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Although the unvaccinated remain most at risk for COVID with two variants in the state, the vaccinated Florida population clearly isn’t in the clear.
About 30% of new COVID cases in Florida in the last 30 days are breakthrough infections in people who have coronavirus vaccines but not a booster shot, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The shots still are effective at preventing hospitalization and death, but early indications are they are less effective in protecting against milder cases.
Beth Kravec, of Davie, was about eight months past her second Pfizer dose and planning to make an appointment for her booster when she came down with a cough and then a fever. A COVID test confirmed the result.
“I tested on a lark,” she said. “I thought it was just a bad cold.”
Kravec had a treatment of monoclonal antibodies as soon as she confirmed her status. She says she felt sick for about a week in total and still hasn’t fully gotten back her sense of taste and smell. Still, she’s grateful she was vaccinated. “Without the vaccine, it could have been worse.”
Dr. Daniel Perez, an internal medicine and infectious diseases specialist in Plantation, said multiple patients in the last two weeks who are vaccinated have come in with upper respiratory symptoms, sore throat, cough and a low-grade fever. Their COVID-19 tests came back positive.
“With breakthrough cases, they are getting a mild flu-like illness,” Perez said. “That’s not as bad as it could be if they weren’t vaccinated, but I am telling everyone to get a booster.”
With omicron only beginning to circulate in Florida, it’s early to know how vaccines will hold up.
Preliminary research for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines shows they provide less immunity to the omicron variant than to other major versions of COVID-19. However, researchers have been optimistic that a booster shot will improve immunity against the new, highly transmissible variant.
Recently released federal data through Oct. 2 sheds light on how common breakthrough cases have been and how severe they were prior to omicron’s arrival:
—All vaccinated age groups saw similar rates of breakthrough infection.
—Vaccinated people 80 and older who got COVID had higher death rates than unvaccinated people under 50.
—All three brands of vaccine substantially reduced rates of cases and deaths, however, Johnson & Johnson recipients had slightly higher rates of breakthrough cases and related deaths. And Pfizer-BioNTech recipients had slightly higher rates than those who got Moderna.
—Even when fully vaccinated people developed symptoms, they were less severe symptoms than in unvaccinated people. By early October, unvaccinated people got COVID at six times the rate of those vaccinated and landed in the hospital at 12 times the rate.
Before this report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had only provided estimates of total breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths without providing insights on mild cases.
This week, New York released data on its breakthrough infections as of Dec. 13, providing insight into how vaccines could fare against omicron.
The state’s findings show vaccination is preventing COVID cases and hospitalizations, although signs of waning immunity are emerging.
—In May, fully vaccinated New Yorkers had a 92% lower chance of becoming a COVID-19 case, compared to unvaccinated New Yorkers. In late November, fully vaccinated New Yorkers had a 79.8% lower chance of becoming a COVID-19 case, compared to unvaccinated New Yorkers.
—Between May and November, vaccinated New Yorkers had between an 89.9% and 95.1% lower chance of being hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to unvaccinated New Yorkers.
Over recent months, research has found immunity against infection may be slowly waning for vaccinated people, which is why the CDC recommends boosters six months after the second dose of Pfizer and Moderna and two months after Johnson & Johnson. Many Floridians who got vaccinated as soon as they were eligible in early spring are overdue for boosters.
As of Dec. 17, only about a third of fully vaccinated Floridians have received a booster shot.
Jacqueline Rodriguez, 27, of Miami, said a week ago, she felt achy, feverish and stuffy and tested positive for COVID. She had her second dose of Pfizer in April and was overdue for her booster. She had planned to get one.
“Maybe it would have helped but no one knows for sure,” she said, adding that her symptoms have been mild.
Now, her husband who is vaccinated but also without a booster has COVID, too. “It feels like it’s spreading like crazy.”
Early reports indicate symptoms of omicron appear different than delta, more cold- and flu-like with the most common early symptom being a scratchy throat. Other common symptoms include nasal congestion, a cough and aches.
Dr. Perez said while symptoms may be milder, no one wants to be sick. “If omicron becomes a dominant variant, it’s going to become even more important that people get their booster,” he said.
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