Bret Jaspers/KJZZ

Will Humble

More than 1,300 vaccinated Arizonans still got COVID-19 between January and May — and eight of them died, but it is not clear if those deaths were COVID-19-related. 

The 1,300 cases are out of more than 3.2 million Arizonans who have at least gotten one dose as of May 24. 

Will Humble, the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, says these “breakthrough” cases could have happened for a variety of reasons.

“No vaccine in the history of time has ever been 100% effective because there’s so much variability in the human population," Humble said.

Humble also says some could have been a result of human error in handling the vaccines or because some of those people may have not been fully vaccinated. 

The vaccinated people who are getting sick, Humble says, mostly have mild cases and that the vaccine is 95% effective.