Even as a grim battle against Coronavirus continues for more than 18 months, most people are puzzled about those who have taken the two shots of the Covid vaccine to shield themselves against the infection getting the disease.
Such infections happen in cases with low immunity even after getting the vaccine and in many cases the patients become seriously ill requiring long treatment, a team of experts at the SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) here said on Wednesday. Prof Banambar Ray, Head of the Department of Critical Care Medicine in the hospital, told newspersons that death occurred in about two per cent of the Covid-19 afflicted people while around three per cent of the patients required long treatment. Of the total patients, around five per cent were getting critical while between 12 to 15 per cent needed hospitalization. “But around 80 to 82 per cent of the Covid-affected people with minor or no symptoms did not require any hospitalization,” Dr Ray said. Prof Ray said when a fully immunized person was infected by the virus it was being referred to as ‘breakthrough infection’ implying that the virus had broken through a protective barrier provided by the vaccine. Individuals with weakened immune system were at higher risk of getting breakthrough infection because the vaccine was less effective in such cases, he said.Patients who had been infected in spite of having been immunized required hospitalization for a period of one month to five months which was being described as ‘long Covid’, Prof Ray said. Brig (Dr) Biraj Mohan Mishra, Chief of Medical Services, SUMUM, informed that two persons who were critically affected by Covid-19 and were treated in hospital for a long time had recovered.