PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It's generally called a "breakthrough" case when someone tests positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. Experts vary, however, on the use of the term.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, sits on the FDA's vaccine advisory committee. When asked what he thought of using the term "breakthrough" to describe mild or asymptomatic cases, he said he found it "misleading."
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"It makes people think that despite the fact they’ve gotten vaccinated that this virus has broken through and now is causing the disease we were trying to prevent," he said.
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"The correct use of the term 'breakthrough' for me in this is despite being fully vaccinated, you're hospitalized or you're killed by this virus."
Montgomery County Office of Public Health medical director Dr. Richard Lorraine said it's up for debate whether or not the use of "breakthrough" is correct. He agreed, though, that using it to describe mild cases is probably misleading.
“We’re dealing with a biologic system," he said. "There are no absolutes, so you're never, ever, ever going to have 100% efficacy."
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However, Lorraine admitted the term implies, to him, a vaccinated person who is infected, regardless of severity.
"I grant there's an emotional connotation that seems to imply a failure on the part of the vaccine, which is not true," he said. "And I would not use the term 'failure' at all."
Both Offit and Lorraine said the vaccines have proven to be effective, safe, and the best defense against serious illness or death.
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