Those who got COVID between vaccine doses urge caution: "We were so close"

Based on a Washington Post analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Post estimates about 21,000 of 470,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus for the week ended Sunday already had their first dose. Michigan, where cases have been rising sharply with the rise of highly transmissible variants, accounts for about a tenth of that estimate. Experts warn these cases should not be interpreted as evidence vaccines don't work. The immune system needs several weeks to provide robust protection as the body learns the blueprint for stopping the virus before it can cause serious disease. They are not the same as "breakthrough infections" happening at least two weeks after the final dose - which are overwhelmingly mild and extreme outliers... Experts say the first dose may keep coronavirus infections mild, but the protection probably wouldn't start kicking in for at least a week.A CDC study of 4,000 vaccinated health care workers and first responders found the risk of infection was reduced by 80% two weeks or more after the first shot and protection increased to more than 90% two weeks or more after the second shot.