By NewsDesk @bactiman63
The Swedish Public Health Agency reports approximately 6.6 million people in the population over the age of 18 have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 5.3 million people with two doses.
Since the turn of the year, more than 650,000 cases of covid-19 have been reported. Of these, 5,274 have been infected despite being vaccinated with two doses and two weeks have elapsed since then. These cases are called breakthrough infections. During the month of May, such cases accounted for 1 percent of the reported cases. During the first two weeks of August, they accounted for 11 percent.
“The increase in breakthrough infections is completely expected. The greater the proportion of the population that is vaccinated, the greater the proportion of cases detected will be vaccinated because there are fewer people left who are not vaccinated. No vaccine protects 100 percent, but the vaccines against covid-19 are effective and provide very good protection against serious disease”, says state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.
The breakthrough infections often cause mild or no disease symptoms at all. When it comes to the age and gender distribution in breakthrough infections, it reflects vaccination coverage in the country, where more older people and women are vaccinated than younger and men.
The Public Health Agency’s analysis also shows that the number of fully vaccinated people who have been intensively cared for or died with covid-19 is small. Since the turn of the year, 21 people who have been vaccinated with two doses have been cared for at IVA. The median age for these cases was 75 years. During the same period, 190 fully vaccinated individuals died within 30 days of their covid-19 diagnosis. Among these, the median age was 87 years.
During the summer, the so-called delta variant of the virus has taken over and now dominates in Sweden. The delta variant is more contagious than the previous alpha variant, but it is unclear exactly how much.
Even though we are currently seeing an increasing spread of infection, the statistics clearly show that the vaccine provides good protection. To reduce the risk of serious illness and that health care should be burdened, it is central that more people choose to be vaccinated, says state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.
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