NETEC Resource Library

Vaccine Breakthrough Infections with SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Item

Click for External Resource*


Click to read full article*


*The link above may share a zip file (.zip) hosted on repository.netecweb.org. Zip files will download automatically.
*All other links are external and will open in a new window. If you click an external link, you are leaving the NETEC site, and we do not maintain, review, or endorse these materials. See our terms of use.


Item Type

Publication

Terms of Use

By accessing these materials you are agreeing to our terms of use, which may be found here: Terms of Use.

Was this resource helpful?


Title

Vaccine Breakthrough Infections with SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Subject

Description

Emerging variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are of clinical concern. In a cohort of 417 persons who had received the second dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine at least 2 weeks previously, we identified 2 women with vaccine breakthrough infection.

Date

2021-04-21

Citation

Hacisuleyman, Ezgi, Caryn Hale, Yuhki Saito, Nathalie E. Blachere, Marissa Bergh, Erin G. Conlon, Dennis J. Schaefer-Babajew, Justin DaSilva, Frauke Muecksch, Christian Gaebler, Richard Lifton, Michel C. Nussenzweig, Theodora Hatziioannou, Paul D. Bieniasz, and Robert B. Darnell. 2021. "Vaccine Breakthrough Infections with SARS-CoV-2 Variants." New England Journal of Medicine.

Abstract

Emerging variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are of clinical concern. In a cohort of 417 persons who had received the second dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine at least 2 weeks previously, we identified 2 women with vaccine breakthrough infection. Despite evidence of vaccine efficacy in both women, symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 developed, and they tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase-chain-reaction testing. Viral sequencing revealed variants of likely clinical importance, including E484K in 1 woman and three mutations (T95I, del142–144, and D614G) in both. These observations indicate a potential risk of illness after successful vaccination and subsequent infection with variant virus, and they provide support for continued efforts to prevent and diagnose infection and to characterize variants in vaccinated persons. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.)

Accessibility

Free online on NEJM.

Collection