Coronavirus

COVID-19 Infections Appearing in Vaccinated People

People vaccinated against COVID-19 can still become infected.

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From day one experts have said that breakthrough COVID-19 infections are rare but it seems like we are hearing about more and more cases.

A sixth Texas Democrat in Washington tested positive for COVID Monday, despite being vaccinated.

Medical experts say the vaccine was designed to keep people from getting severely ill and so far, that seems to be the case.

People who get vaccinated but still get COVID, are dealing with mild or moderate symptoms," said Dallas County Medical Society President Dr. Beth Kassanoff-Piper.

Whether vaccinated or not, anyone exhibiting cold symptoms should get tested for COVID-19, said Kassanoff-Piper.

Vaccinated people should consider wearing masks.

"If you're gonna be in a big crowd of people where there may be a lot of people not vaccinated or if you're around people who you don't know if they would stay home if they're sick, I would wear that mask just to be cautious," said Kassanoff-Piper.

The delta variant is, what doctors think, what's behind the breakthrough infections.

It's also a big reason why the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday all kids should wear masks to school in the fall.

How is delta affecting kids?

The answer, from local epidemiologist Dr. Katelyn Jetelina at the UT School of Public Health, is that delta is 200 times more transmissible so more kids will get it.

Delta also has a 1000% more viral load. More kids will also spread it to others.

Right now, it's not clear whether delta is more severe on kids than other variants.

You can find a link to more questions and answers from Dr. Jetelina on her blog.

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