KEY POINTS

  • Massachusetts also recorded 11,431 breakthrough infections over the past week
  • There were 61 additional deaths reported statewide Tuesday
  • The state government may impose new COVID-19 restrictions after a legislative hearing Thursday

Nearly 700 people in Massachusetts have died of COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated as breakthrough cases continue to surge in the state.

Between Dec. 4 and 11, health officials in Massachusetts reported an additional 52 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths. The latest figures bring the state’s total number of deaths among the fully vaccinated to 699 since inoculations began on Dec. 14, 2020.

During the same timeframe, Massachusetts also recorded 11,431 new breakthrough infections. The state has now reported a total of 100,399 COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated, according to data from the Department of Public Health.

The number of breakthrough infections and deaths represents 2.02% and 0.01% of all fully vaccinated individuals in the state, respectively.

Despite the rising number of cases and fatalities among the vaccinated, health experts still urge the public to get the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that the shots are still effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death.

Health officials are also encouraging vaccinated people to get booster shots to shore up protection against COVID-19.

COVID-19 cases are steadily increasing statewide, with health officials in Massachusetts reporting 4,039 new confirmed infections and 61 additional deaths among the unvaccinated and vaccinated Tuesday. It was the most deaths reported by Massachusetts since March 3.

The state has now reported a total of 916,547 cases and 19,304 deaths since the pandemic began. Massachusetts now has a seven-day average positivity rate of 5.18%, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

As the number of infections continues to climb, officials in Massachusetts are urging the local government to impose mask mandates in indoor public places to combat the spread of the pandemic.

“Massachusetts is a high-transmission setting with a COVID surge, and it is past time for Massachusetts to have an indoor mask policy to protect everyone,” Julia Raifman, an assistant professor of health law, policy, and management at the Boston University School of Public Health, told The Boston Globe.

State Representative William Driscoll Jr., who supports mask mandates, said the government may impose new restrictions, including masking guidance in public settings after a legislative hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Less than eight percent of the 1.2 billion people on the African continent have received a coronavirus vaccine
Less than eight percent of the 1.2 billion people on the African continent have received a coronavirus vaccine AFP / EMMANUEL CROSET
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