SEATTLE, Wash. – High profile so-called breakthrough cases of COVID-19, where a fully vaccinated person tests positive for the coronavirus, are prompting state health officials to recommend that even vaccinated persons mask up in crowded situations.
Some vaccinated Olympic athletes have tested positive and are being kept out of the games and the state health department reports just over 2,900 breakthrough cases in Washington since January.
But Dr. Ali Mokdad with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation tells KOMO News that almost all of these infections cause just mild illness.
“Even if you get Covid-19, it’s not going to impact you,” says Mokdad. “You’re not going to end up in a hospital and you’re definitely not going to end up in the morgue.”
While breakthrough cases present a tiny fraction of the 4 million Washington resident’s who’ve been vaccinated and they usually don’t cause serious illness, Dr. Mokdad an others recommend masking to help prevent more spread of the disease.
And they continue to urge everyone who can to get vaccinated.