Mass. reports 3,741 new breakthrough COVID-19 cases, raising total to 0.87 percent of fully vaccinated people

Doses of the Pfizer vaccine.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Massachusetts on Tuesday reported 3,741 more COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated people since last week, bringing the total since the beginning of the vaccination campaign to 40,464 cases, or 0.87 percent of all fully vaccinated people.

The Department of Public Health also reported 46 more COVID-19 deaths among fully vaccinated people, bringing the total to 300 deaths among those fully vaccinated. The number of breakthrough deaths represents a tiny fraction of all vaccinated people and underscores the protection the vaccines provide against severe illness and death.

The deaths accounted for 0.006 percent of the 4,633,805 people in Massachusetts who were fully vaccinated, the department said in its weekly update on breakthrough COVID-19 metrics, which included data reported through Saturday.

The department also reported 125 more hospitalizations among fully vaccinated people, for a total of 1,280 hospitalizations. That represents 0.03 percent of all fully vaccinated people.

State officials and public health experts have repeatedly stressed that vaccination greatly reduces hospitalization, severe illness, and death as a result of COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, 4,646,313 people in Massachusetts have been fully vaccinated, according to the department.