The news of an emergency room nurse who tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving the vaccine is a reminder that even as 2021 comes, hand washing, social distancing, and masks will also important.
Matthew W, a 45-year-old nurse in San Diego, received the Pfizer vaccine on December 18 and told ABC News that arm pain was the only side effect of the vaccine he encountered.
Six days later, Matthew had chills, muscle pain, and exhaustion after working a shift in the COVID-19 unit. A hospital drive-up examination indicated that he was COVID-19 positive.
The situation is not surprising, Dr. Christian Ramers, a specialist in infectious diseases with the San Diego Family Health Centers, told KGTV.
After being vaccinated, patients do not develop COVID-19 defense right away.
“We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine,” Ramers said.
Even after those 10 to 14 days, for maximum safety, patients require a second vaccine dose.
“That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50 percent, and you need that second dose to get up to 95 percent,” added Ramers.
Another explanation is that Matthew may have been affected prior to getting the vaccine on December 18, as the incubation time for COVID-19 may be as long as 14 days.
Both future possibilities are a reminder of not being a panacea for vaccines. Instead, researchers say, it will take time and continued adherence to fundamental public health practices like social distancing, masks, and hand washing.
“You hear health practitioners being very optimistic about it being the beginning of the end, but it’s going to be a slow roll, weeks to months as we roll out the vaccine,” Ramers said.
Source: ABC, DailyMail, New York Post