Q. I am very confused. Why is it that some people get the COVID-19 vaccine and still get sick? Why bother getting the vaccine anyway? 

A:  Good question. There are many reasons for “breakthrough” illnesses, meaning that a person received a vaccine and subsequently became sick anyway. Nothing is 100 percent except death and taxes—as the old saying goes. Aside from risk-factor contributors such as age, blood type, race, individual immune system function, and underlying chronic illnesses, etc., vaccines are not 100 percent effective.

As of September 7, 2021, 53.9 percent of people in the US have been fully vaccinated (more than 176 million individuals). Breakthrough cases numbered 14, 115. (COVID-19 Breakthrough Case Investigations and Reporting | CDC)

Why get the vaccine? CDC also reported that unvaccinated individuals were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die of Covid-19.

In terms of keeping people with COVID-19 outof the hospital, the Washington Post reported that Moderna was 95 percent effective, Pfizer was 80 percent effective, and J&J was 60 percent effective. (September 10, 2021, Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach)