(Newer)
– Six days after an emergency room nurse in San Diego was vaccinated against COVID-19, he became ill and tested positive for the corona virus. But while the story may sound alarming, health authorities say cases like this are to be expected and not cause for alarm. The 45-year-old was given the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses three weeks apart, December 18, and started feeling sick on Christmas Eve. There is more than one possible explanation, ABC News reports: He may have already been infected when he was vaccinated, as the incubation period could be up to two weeks, or he could have been infected after receiving the injection.
“We know from the clinical trials of vaccines that it will take about 10 to 14 days for you to start developing protection against the vaccine,” says an infectious disease specialist. And after the first dose, that protection is believed to be about 50% – after the second dose, it can be as high as 95%. The specialist adds that he knows other health professionals who became infected around the time they were vaccinated. As for the nurse in question, 10 News reports that his symptoms peaked over Christmas and he tested positive at a testing site the day after; he says he has been feeling better since then, but is still tired. (Read more stories about the coronavirus.)