Fully Vaccinated Ohio Man Hospitalized With COVID, but Breakthrough Cases Still Rare

Fully Vaccinated Ohio Man Hospitalized With COVID, but Breakthrough Cases Still Rare

An Ohio man has been hospitalized with COVID despite being fully vaccinated. But experts say such breakthrough cases of the disease are still rare.

Brendon Hrepic, 31, received his second shot of the Pfizer vaccine on April 19. Hrepic started to get COVID symptoms on May 12, including a persistent cough and the loss of his taste and smell. He has since been hospitalized by the virus. In footage of Hrepic broadcast by News 5 Cleveland, he was in a hospital bed with a nasal cannula. These are used to give patients oxygen.

Clinical trials of the Pfizer COVID vaccine show it reduces a person's risk of developing COVID-19 by 95 percent, at least seven days after they have their second shot. The level of protection and length of time needed before it kicks in differs between the various vaccines.