March 12, 2021, 5:51 PM HST
The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) noted on Friday the state’s first three cases of coronavirus discovery, which is not as positive a term as it sounds.
A case study describes an incident in which a fully vaccinated person (someone who received both doses) subsequently contracted COVID-19.
“This number is not beyond expectations with nearly 165,000 people in Hawaii being fully vaccinated,” according to a statement released by DOH on Friday.
A vaccine with 95% effectiveness will protect 95 out of 100 people. This means that 5% can still contract COVID if exposed.
“This is another reason why we must all do our part to keep the number of cases low,” the department continued. “The lower the prevalence of COVID in the community, the less likely it is that any of us, even those who have been vaccinated, will be infected.”
It is important to note that none of the people with COVID’s “discovery” became seriously ill and no one is known to have transmitted COVID to another person. Studies of all three currently approved vaccines circulating in the United States state that they are almost 100% effective in stopping positive cases from hospitalization and / or death, in other words, “severe” cases of COVID-19 infection.
Vaccines prevent serious diseases as they are designed to do, the department said.