Some fully vaccinated students at San Jose State are contracting “breakthrough” infections of the coronavirus.
Vaccine breakthrough infections are defined by the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) as the presence of COVID-19 RNA in the respiratory system of individuals who’ve been vaccinated for 14 or more days, according to the CDC website.
The COVID-19 delta variant, which is twice as transmissible as the strain that originated in Wuhan, China, is the predominant strain of the COVID-19 virus circulating in the U.S., according to the CDC Delta Variant webpage.
As of Thursday, Santa Clara County has 1,333 known cases of the delta variant, according to its COVID-19 Variant Dashboard.
International business senior Ken Ueda-Martinez contracted the COVID-19 virus in May after being fully vaccinated in March.
“I found out one night when my mason jar of pot had no smell to it. Next morning I went to get checked and I had [COVID-19],” Ueda-Martinez said in an Instagram message.
Ueda-Martinez said his only symptom was a loss of smell, one of the identifying symptoms of COVID-19, according to the CDC symptoms of COVID-19 webpage.
Kenneth Mashinchi, senior director of strategic communications and media relations, said SJSU isn’t tracking breakthrough cases.
“Since the guidance and recommendations for COVID-19 cases are the same for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, these cases are not counted separately,” Mashinchi said.
SJSU has reported five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days, according to its COVID-19 Dashboard, which provides up-to-date statistics of infected students, faculty and staff.
President Mary Papazian stated in an Aug. 2 campuswide email that students and faculty should use the Report a Case Portal if individuals test positive or are exposed to someone who’s infected with the virus, regardless of vaccination status.
While the university isn’t tracking breakthrough infections, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found 0.1% of vaccinated Californians have been infected with COVID-19 as of July 30.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco.
Given there’s 39,613,493 people in California in 2021, according to the World Health Organization, about 4 million of vaccinated Californians have been infected with the virus.
Although vaccines mitigate the severe effects of the virus including death and hospitalization, the vaccines aren’t 100% effective in preventing illness, according to the CDC Vaccine and Immunizations webpage.
While some vaccinated individuals will get sick, and in rare cases get hospitalized, there’s evidence vaccinations reduce the severity of the illness, according to the same CDC webpage.
However, evidence also shows the vaccines’ effectiveness decreases over time, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in an Aug. 18 joint statement vaccine boosters may be vital for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to provide “long lasting protection.”
Booster shots are additional doses of a vaccine that are meant to “boost” the immune system and better protect against illness, according to the same statement.
Following the California State University policy announced on July 27, SJSU is requiring all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated by Sept. 30, according to its COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements webpage.
SJSU will require students, faculty and staff to certify their vaccination status by the same date, according to the same webpage.
SJSU physician Dr. Barbara Fu said 90% of the students have attested to being vaccinated and 76% of students have verified their vaccination status with the university as of Friday.
“Along with following state and county public health guidelines, SJSU continues to monitor and assess the campus repopulation plan and will make adjustments as needed,” Fu said in an email.
The university allows requests for medical or religious vaccination exemptions, but some students are still worried about the possibility of contracting the virus from unvaccinated individuals.
SJSU history senior Nhut Nguyen said the campus would be safer if more students got vaccinated because unvaccinated students are “holding us back.”
“If you want to take in person classes, you should have to get vaccinated,” Nguyen said. “It’s our duty.”
He said those hesitant to receive the vaccine should find other ways to take classes.
“There’s a lot of online options. So if you don’t want to get vaccinated . . . you can do that,” Nguyen said. “And with the new variants coming out, it’s pushing even more [students] to get [vaccinated].”
Mashinchi said SJSU is prepared to notify students if the university has to switch to online classes in the event of increasing COVID-19 cases on campus.
Kinesiology junior Eme Espinoza said she’s prepared to go online again if her health and safety are at risk.
“I’ve done online classes before,” Espinoza said. “It may be difficult at first, but it’s not something nobody can handle.”
Other SJSU students believe returning to online classes would be detrimental.
Vazquez Lozada, child adolescent and development sophomore, said vaccinations shouldn’t be required for students because “people should have the freedom to decide for their own bodies.”
“I think that requiring any vaccine in order to have access to campus is unconstitutional,” Lozada said. “It goes against our human rights and it’s causing discrimination and segregation among the students.”
Espinoza said individuals should try to protect themselves and those around them by wearing masks and sanitizing when possible to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases.
“I think as human beings we should try to support each other, regardless of any political views regarding [COVID-19],” Espinoza said.
