246 people test positive to COVID-19 after vaccination

At least 246 people in Michigan who were fully immunized against COVID-19, tested positive for the virus, and three have died.

No identifying information was available for the three people who died except that they were aged 65 or older.

This makes Michigan among the first states to report ‘breakthrough cases,’ which occur when people test positive for the virus at least 14 days after receiving their final dose of the vaccine.

All the vaccines approved for emergency use authorizations – Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – are between 72 and 95 percent effective.

This means between five and 28 percent of people get vaccinated may still get sick, which officials say is serious but not surprising.

They say it also underscores the fact that masks and other public health measures are needed until enough of the population is vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

So far, about 2.95 million residents, about 36.5 percent of the state’s population, have received at least one dose and 1.8 million Michiganders are fully vaccinated.