A nurse in California tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, according ABC News affiliate reported on Tuesday, but a medical expert said the body needs more time to build up protection.
Matthew W., 45, a nurse at two different local hospitals, said in a Facebook post on December 18 that he had received the Pfizer vaccine, telling the ABC News associate that his arm was sore for a day but that he had suffered no other side-effects.
On Christmas Eve, six days later, he became ill after working a shift in the COVID-19 unit, the report added.
An emergency room nurse who tested positive for COVID-19 after getting vaccinated is a reminder that handwashing, social distancing and masks are still important. https://t.co/0FPd4AlMes
— ABC News (@ABC) December 29, 2020
He got the chills and later came down with muscle aches and fatigue.
He went to a drive-up hospital testing site and tested positive for COVID-19 the day after Christmas, the report said.
Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego, told the ABC News affiliate that this scenario was not unexpected.
“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.
“That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%,” Ramers added.
