Just 376 Mecklenburg County residents who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 have reported confirmed "breakthrough" cases of the coronavirus, Mecklenburg County's health department said Friday.
The data, released for the first time in the pandemic, amounts to less than 1% — seven-hundredths — of the 535,939 people who have been fully vaccinated in the county.
A "breakthrough case" happens when someone who is fully vaccinated against the virus becomes infected.
Mecklenburg County Public Health said those 376 cases all are self-reported, however, and might not include all cases. It reflects data from cases reported between March 22 and July 27, 2021.
Through July 11, North Carolina had roughly 4,660 breakthrough cases; 321 of those were hospitalized and 61 died.
Concerns that more vaccinated people might be contracting COVID-19 come as an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presentation obtained Thursday said that the delta variant of the coronavirus could be as contagious as chickenpox, and can be transmitted by those who are vaccinated.
The county data released Friday confirms that the vast majority of those contracting COVID-19 still are unvaccinated.
