GOP U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Monday said that although he tested positive for COVID-19, he's "very glad" he was vaccinated because his symptoms would otherwise be "far worse."
The South Carolina U.S. Senator made the announcement in a Twitter post.
"I was just informed by the House physician I have tested positive for #COVID19 even after being vaccinated," Graham wrote. "I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now."
Graham's announcement comes as nationwide concerns rise due to the spread of the delta variant.
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Graham, who was vaccinated in December, has long been a proponent of vaccination, saying during a visit this spring to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston that “the sooner we get everybody vaccinated, the quicker we can get back to normal.”
Data collected by NBC News shows that fewer than 1% of people who are vaccinated have tested positive for COVID-19.
At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,400 of those have died, according to data first reported by NBC News late last week.
The 125,682 "breakthrough" cases in 38 states found by NBC News represent less than .08 percent of the 164.2 million-plus people who have been fully vaccinated since January, or about one in every 1,300. The number of cases and deaths among the vaccinated is very small compared to the number among the unvaccinated. A former Biden adviser on COVID-19 estimated that 98 to 99 percent of deaths are among the unvaccinated.
But the total number of breakthrough cases is likely higher than 125,683, since nine states, including Pennsylvania and Missouri, did not provide any information, while 11, like COVID-19 hotspot Florida, did not provide death and hospitalization totals. Four states gave death and hospitalization numbers, but not the full tally of cases.
And vaccinated adults who have breakthrough cases but show no symptoms could be missing from the data altogether, say officials.
