As no vaccines are 100% effective at preventing illness, COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases are expected. We here aim to review the most recent literature on COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections. SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections are, in general, rare. Age may still be a factor in SARS-CoV-2 infections in immunized individuals.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
TavilaniA, AbbasiE, Kian AraF, . COVID-19 vaccines: current evidence and considerations. Metabol Open2021;12:100124.doi:10.1016/j.metop.2021.100124http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34541483
2.
HotezPJ, NuzhathT, CallaghanT, . COVID-19 vaccine decisions: considering the choices and opportunities. Microbes Infect2021;23:104811.doi:10.1016/j.micinf.2021.104811http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33744495
3.
HallVJ, FoulkesS, CharlettA, . SARS-CoV-2 infection rates of antibody-positive compared with antibody-negative health-care workers in England: a large, multicentre, prospective cohort study (siren). Lancet2021;397:1459–69.doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00675-9http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33844963
4.
TandeAJ, PollockBD, ShahND, . Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine on asymptomatic infection among patients undergoing Preprocedural COVID-19 molecular screening. Clin Infect Dis2022;74:59–65.doi:10.1093/cid/ciab229
5.
KeehnerJ, HortonLE, PfefferMA, . SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination in health care workers in California. N Engl J Med2021;384:1774–5.doi:10.1056/NEJMc2101927http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33755376
6.
Inc. JB. FDA Briefing document. Janssen Ad26.COV2.S vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19, 2021.
7.
El ChaarM, KingK, Galvez LimaA. Are black and Hispanic persons disproportionately affected by COVID-19 because of higher obesity rates?Surg Obes Relat Dis2020;16:1096–9.doi:10.1016/j.soard.2020.04.038http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32522406
8.
TirupathiR, MuradovaV, ShekharR, . COVID-19 disparity among racial and ethnic minorities in the US: a cross sectional analysis. Travel Med Infect Dis2020;38:101904.doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101904http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33137491
9.
SelfWH, TenfordeMW, RhoadsJP, . Comparative Effectiveness of Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Adults Without Immunocompromising Conditions - United States, March-August 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep2021;70:1337–43.doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7038e1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34555004
10.
Dos SantosWG. Impact of virus genetic variability and host immunity for the success of COVID-19 vaccines. Biomed Pharmacother2021;136:111272.doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111272http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33486212
RollandM, GilbertPB. Sieve analysis to understand how SARS-CoV-2 diversity can impact vaccine protection. PLoS Pathog2021;17:e1009406.doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009406http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33765086
PhilominaJ B, JollyB, JohnN, . Genomic survey of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections in healthcare workers from Kerala, India. J Infect2021;83:237–79.doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2021.05.018http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34044037
18.
PollettSD, RichardSA, FriesAC. The SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine breakthrough infection phenotype includes significant symptoms, live virus shedding, and viral genetic diversity. Clin Infect Dis2022;74:897–900.doi:10.1093/cid/ciab543
OranDP, TopolEJ. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections that are asymptomatic. Ann Intern Med2021;174:1344–5.doi:10.7326/L21-0491http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34543599
22.
KlompasM. Understanding breakthrough infections following mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. JAMA2021;326:2018–20.doi:10.1001/jama.2021.19063http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34734985
TenfordeMW, SelfWH, AdamsK, . Association between mRNA vaccination and COVID-19 hospitalization and disease severity. JAMA2021;326:2043–54.doi:10.1001/jama.2021.19499http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34734975
30.
PetterE, MorO, ZuckermanN. Initial real world evidence for lower viral load of individuals who have been vaccinated by BNT162b2. medRxiv2021.doi:10.1101/2021.02.08.21251329
31.
ChiaPY, OngSWX, ChiewCJ, . Virological and serological kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant vaccine breakthrough infections: a multicentre cohort study. Clin Microbiol Infect2022;28:612.e1–612.e7.doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2021.11.010http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34826623
32.
NainuF, AbidinRS, BaharMA, . SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and implications for vaccine development. Hum Vaccin Immunother2020;16:3061–73.doi:10.1080/21645515.2020.1830683http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33393854
ElliottP, HawD, WangH, . Exponential growth, high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and vaccine effectiveness associated with the delta variant. Science2021;374:eabl9551.doi:10.1126/science.abl9551http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34726481
35.
El SahlyHM, BadenLR, EssinkB, . Efficacy of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at completion of blinded phase. N Engl J Med2021;385:1774–85.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2113017http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34551225
36.
ThomasSJ, MoreiraED, KitchinN, . Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine through 6 months. N Engl J Med2021;385:1761–73.doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2110345http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34525277
37.
TartofSY, SlezakJM, FischerH, . Effectiveness of mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine up to 6 months in a large integrated health system in the USA: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet2021;398:1407–16.doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02183-8http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34619098
38.
de GierB, AndewegS, BackerJA, . Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 transmission to household contacts during dominance of delta variant (B.1.617.2), the Netherlands, August to September 2021. Euro Surveill2021;26.doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.44.2100977
TenfordeMW, PatelMM, GaglaniM, . Effectiveness of a Third Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19 Hospitalization Among Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Adults - United States, August-December 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep2022;71:118–24.doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7104a2http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35085218
