Risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 higher for seniors and people with underlying conditions

Seniors and people with underlying conditons are most at risk of severe Covid-19 if they get a breakhtrough infection. But the unvaccinated face even higher risks.

As of August 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 12,908 severe breakthrough cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated people that resulted in hospitalization or death. For the more than 173 million people who were fully vaccinated by that date, that represents a less than a 1 in 13,000 chance of experiencing a severe breakthrough case of Covid-19. About 70% of breakthrough cases resulting in hospitalization were among adults 65 and older and about 87% of breakthrough cases resulting in death were among adults 65 and older, the CDC data suggests.