May 17, 2024
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Here’s what breakthrough COVID-19 looks like in patients at Edward Hospital in Naperville

The virus looks a lot different in vaccinated patients than unvaccinated patients, Edward-Elmhurst infectious disease specialist says

By Denise M. Baran-Unland

Registered Nurse Nikki Carini-Wardecki loads a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during the first day of vaccinations for employees at Edward Hospital in Naperville on Dec. 17, 2020. Despite breakthough cases, getting vaccinated and boosted is still the best way to prevent severe COVID symptoms and death. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

As of Wednesday, Edward Hospital in Naperville was treating 74 inpatients with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Of those patients, 29 were unvaccinated, 29 were vaccinated and had breakthrough COVID, and two were partially vaccinated.

According to Edward-Elmhurst Health, numbers for unvaccinated and vaccinated/breakthrough inpatients do not match number of inpatients with COVID-19 being treated due to a discrepancy when the data is collected and posted.

On Tuesday, Edward Hospital was treating 75 COVID-19 patients: 21 unvaccinated, 34 were vaccinated with breakthrough COVID-19 and three were partially vaccinated. And in the 72 COVID-19 patients Edward Hospital was treating on Monday, 26 weren’t vaccinated, 33 were vaccinated with breakthrough COVID-19 and two were partially vaccinated.

So does this mean the vaccines really don’t work?

Not hardly, according to Dr. Jonathan Pinsky, infectious disease specialist at Edward-Elmhurst Health.

First of all, the Omicron variant tends to infect people more and the vaccines do not provide as much protection as they did for previous infections, Pinsky said.

Dr. Jonathan Pinsky, Medical Director, Infection Control & Prevention, Edward Hospital.

Dr. Jonathan Pinsky, Medical Director, Infection Control & Prevention, Edward Hospital. (Photo provided)

Secondly, people who are vaccinated and then become infected with COVID-19 are older and typically experience mild symptoms.

For instance, the average age of a person hospitalized at Edward Hospital with breakthrough COVID-19 is 72, as opposed to 55 for the person who is unvaccinated, Pinsky said.

Only a third of people with breakthrough COVID-19 had pneumonia that was severe enough to require some form of supplemental oxygen, Pinsky said. In the unvaccinated, it was 80%.

Breakthrough cases are also occurring in the elderly, with a median age of 80, who are also immunocompromised in some way, Pinsky said. They’ve had organ transplants or chemotherapy treatments, or they have an autoimmune condition. Even then, symptoms tend to be mild, Pinsky said.

“Because they’re elderly and frail, they often get dehydrated and develop electrolyte problems,” Pinsky said, later adding these patients generally don’t require any supplemental oxygen.

The unvaccinated person, again with the average age of 55, typically have no preexisting conditions, Pinsky said. People who are getting reinfected with COVID-19 also tend to be unvaccinated, Pinksy said.

“The only vulnerability for them is just that they are not vaccinated,” Pinksy said.

Very rarely, a person will be hospitalized at Edward for another condition and then also test positive for COVID-19, Pinsky said.

“When patients have been vaccinated and boosted, they rarely develop anything severe,” Pinsky said. “I’ve really only seen it in patients who are immunocompromised.”

It is not too late to get vaccinated or boosted, Pinsky said.

“COVID-19 isn’t going away,” Pinksy said. “If you do get boosted, that will, hopefully, provide you with some durable protection for months to come.”