Only nine Ontarians under the age of 60 have ended up in the ICU with a breakthrough case of COVID-19

There have been more than 17,000 so-called breakthrough cases of COVID-19 involving fully vaccinated Ontarians over the last year but the number of those people under 60 who eventually ended up in an intensive care unit is only nine.

Public Health Ontario has compiled a new report examining the prevalence of breakthrough infections in the province up until Nov. 14.

The report provides the most exhaustive look at breakthrough infections in Ontario to date and seems to support the testimony of public health experts, who have consistently argued that the vaccines are extremely effective at preventing both symptomatic infection and hospitalizations.

The data shows that there have been 17,596 breakthrough cases among the more than 11 million Ontarians who are fully vaccinated, accounting for 3.8 per cent of all lab-confirmed cases.

But it also suggests that the share of fully vaccinated people who end up in hospital is even lower, particularly among those under the age of 60.