As more people who are fully vaccinated and boosted get breakthrough cases of COVID, local doctors are encouraging people to still get the shot.
Dr. Ryan Bariola is a professor medicine for the infectious disease department at the University of Pittsburgh, and he says even though the vaccines may not prevent infection, they are still preventing severe outcomes.
“Very few vaccines are 100 percent effective. A vaccine’s job is to prevent you from getting critically ill, it prevents you from getting ill enough to go to the hospital or get sick and pass away,” Bariola said. “Even those people who are becoming ill after a vaccination with COVID, and in the midst of a surge of Omicron cases, we’re seeing those people are much less likely to go to the hospital, less likely to go to the ICU, and much less likely to pass away.” He also encourages people to wear a mask if they are in a crowded indoor environment.
