A California ER nurse tested positive for COVID-19 eight days after he received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Matthew W. said he received the vaccine on December 18 and experienced a little soreness in his arm that lasted one day.
After working a shift in the COVID-19 unit on Christmas Eve, the 45-year-old said he started experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID infection. He was tested for the virus on boxing day and the results came back positive, ABC News reports.
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Dr. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego said it is not unexpected that someone would test positive for COVID after they are vaccinated, especially if that person may have been infected in the days leading up to receiving the vaccine.
The incubation period of the virus is up to 14 days so it is possible that Matthew have been infected before December 18 and started showing symptoms after he received the vaccine.
“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.
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And even if he was infected after, Dr. Ramers explained that a single dose of the vaccine is not enough to provide full protection from the virus.
“That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%.”
He added that this case should be a reminder for people to continue to wash their hands, wear a mask and follow other COVID protocols even after they received the vaccine.
