'Breakthrough' COVID Infections Causing Concern
2021-07-27
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1Reports of COVID-19 infection among fully vaccinated people are increasing.
2Olympic athletes, lawmakers and heads of state are among the vaccinated who have tested positive for the virus.
3Such infections are called "breakthroughs."
4They appear to be quite rare and usually cause little, if any, sickness.
5These breakthroughs are causing fear that the vaccines are not working.
6But most experts disagree.
7Dr. Anthony Fauci is the top infectious disease official in the United States.
8He said infections among a very small number of vaccinated people do not mean the treatment is "failing."
9He said the vaccines are working well even against the Delta variant.
10It is now the leading cause of new infections worldwide.
11The main reason most experts consider the vaccines successful is that very few breakthrough cases result in hospital treatment or death.
12Most do not cause any sign of sickness at all.
13People who are vaccinated but still get sick generally have mild symptoms for a couple of days before the body starts fighting the virus.
14Only about 5,000 out of nearly 160 million vaccinated people have either died or been hospitalized in the U.S. and also tested positive for COVID-19.
15Medical experts are following the breakthrough cases.
16U.S. health agencies are considering whether vaccinated people should get an extra vaccine treatment called a "booster."
17People worry when they hear news like that which came from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
18He was very sick with COVID-19 last year and is fully vaccinated now.
19However, he went into quarantine this week after being around a person who tested positive.
20But health officials in the U.S. want to be sure people are not overreacting to the breakthrough cases.
21That is because many people say they do not want to get the shots.
22The doctors worry those people will think getting the shot is not worth it if some people still get sick.
23Dr. William Schaffner is an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.
24He said that is the wrong idea.
25People need to know the vaccines are doing their job.
26"The vaccines were developed to keep us out of those terrible institutions we call hospitals," he said.
27"We have to keep coming back to that."
28I'm Dan Friedell.
1Reports of COVID-19 infection among fully vaccinated people are increasing. Olympic athletes, lawmakers and heads of state are among the vaccinated who have tested positive for the virus. 2Such infections are called "breakthroughs." They appear to be quite rare and usually cause little, if any, sickness. 3These breakthroughs are causing fear that the vaccines are not working. 4But most experts disagree. 5Dr. Anthony Fauci is the top infectious disease official in the United States. He said infections among a very small number of vaccinated people do not mean the treatment is "failing." He said the vaccines are working well even against the Delta variant. It is now the leading cause of new infections worldwide. 6The main reason most experts consider the vaccines successful is that very few breakthrough cases result in hospital treatment or death. Most do not cause any sign of sickness at all. 7People who are vaccinated but still get sick generally have mild symptoms for a couple of days before the body starts fighting the virus. 8Only about 5,000 out of nearly 160 million vaccinated people have either died or been hospitalized in the U.S. and also tested positive for COVID-19. 9Medical experts are following the breakthrough cases. U.S. health agencies are considering whether vaccinated people should get an extra vaccine treatment called a "booster." 10People worry when they hear news like that which came from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He was very sick with COVID-19 last year and is fully vaccinated now. However, he went into quarantine this week after being around a person who tested positive. 11But health officials in the U.S. want to be sure people are not overreacting to the breakthrough cases. That is because many people say they do not want to get the shots. The doctors worry those people will think getting the shot is not worth it if some people still get sick. 12Dr. William Schaffner is an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. He said that is the wrong idea. People need to know the vaccines are doing their job. 13"The vaccines were developed to keep us out of those terrible institutions we call hospitals," he said. "We have to keep coming back to that." 14I'm Dan Friedell. 15Lauran Neergaard wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 16What would you tell people in the U.S. about the breakthrough infections? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 17_______________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19athlete -n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength 20positive -adj. showing the presence of a particular germ, condition, or substance 21variant -n. different in some way from others of the same kind 22mild - adj. not harsh or severe 23institution - n. an established organization