SALEM, Oregon. – The Oregon Health Authority announced Friday that it has discovered the first known “breakthrough” cases of coronavirus in the state – individuals who have been fully vaccinated but tested positive for COVID-19.
OHA said there are currently four such cases. All had received their second dose of a vaccine at least 14 days before testing positive.
Two of the cases are in Yamhill County and two more in Lane County. OHA said it is working with local public health officials to investigate the origins of these cases.
Diseases of the four cases range from asymptomatic to mild symptoms.
“Genome sequencing is underway and we expect results next week,” the agency said.
Breakthrough cases are “not unexpected,” said OHA. Clinical trials with both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines resulted in some of these cases, although the severity of the diseases tended to decrease.
“Based on what is known about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, OHA experts believe the existing vaccines are very effective,” the agency concluded.
The daily number of vaccinations performed in Oregon has continued to grow, with 25,772 doses added to the state registry on Friday – the majority of the vaccinations taken on Thursday. Currently, a total of 649,602 first and second doses have been administered in the state, out of more than 884,000 delivered at locations in Oregon.