Despite massive vaccination programs implemented to abate COVID-19, breakthrough infections among the vaccinated individuals continue to be a source of worry. This original article published in the ‘International Journal of Diabetes and Technology’ investigated the severity of breakthrough and non breakthrough infections of SARS-CoV-2 post-COVID-19 vaccinations among health-care workers, COVID-19 frontline warriors, and the general population in South India.

A survey was jointly conducted by Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centre and Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation (Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India), to assess the severity of non breakthrough and breakthrough infections of COVID-19 after vaccination, especially among health-care workers across South India. The results showed that among the 225 vaccinated individuals who responded to the survey, 89.3% were vaccinated with Covishield, 8.9% were vaccinated with Covaxin, and 1.7% with other vaccines. 153 respondents to the survey had COVID-19 infections. Of these, 53.6% COVID-19 infections were observed in the health care workers (partially and fully vaccinated) and other COVID-19 frontline warriors. 142 people who developed COVID-19 were vaccinated with Covishield, in which 38.7% developed COVID-19 after the first dose and 61.3% developed it after the second dose of vaccination. In the Covaxin group, 60% were affected with COVID-19 after the first dose and 40% people after the second dose. 72.9% of the individuals vaccinated with Covishield and 50% of the individuals vaccinated with Covaxin, and one from other categories of vaccines had reported breakthrough infections, infections occurring ≥14 days after completing the recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccinations.