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Josh Mugele, an emergency physician in Georgia, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
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Mugele received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus nine days earlier.
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Mugele’s infection is not a sign that the injection did not work.
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The vaccine requires two injections to be fully effective. It may also take a few weeks for vaccinated individuals to develop immunity, so it is important to continue to wear masks and maintain social distance after taking the vaccines.
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“It was pure luck,” said Mugele. “It turns out that I was exposed a few days after receiving the vaccine, but this is still the best tool we have to fight the virus”.
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Josh Mugele worked the Christmas night shift. Although he had seen coronavirus patients since the pandemic began, his hospital in Georgia was packed as never before. However, there was a small consolation: Mugele had received the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on December 20.
“I have had three consecutive shifts until the vaccine date,” Mugele, an emergency room physician at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia, told Business Insider. “I was very nervous because I was going to be exposed before that. Honestly, I felt a sense of relief when, on the 20th, I managed to get the vaccine and I thought I had kind of crossed the finish line. “
Then, on Monday, he had a headache and cough. The next day, he tested positive for COVID-19.
“I was scared at first, but more than anything, I think I was angry,” said Mugele. “I had maximum exposure as much as any emergency doctor in the country, and I was spared for 10 months and then getting it right after receiving the vaccine is just stupid and frustrating.”
The Pfizer vaccine is given in two injections 21 days apart
Mugele always knew that there was a chance of getting sick after the first dose.
The Pfizer vaccine is given in two injections 21 days apart. The two-dose regimen was considered 95% effective in preventing COVID-19, but a single dose provided much less protection. That is why it is essential that recipients of the vaccine return for a second injection.
Read More: Primary care clinics hope to play a large role in vaccinating Americans, but some do not know when they will receive coronavirus vaccines. 3 large chains show how they are preparing, despite little information.
It is also not known whether the vaccine completely prevents infection, and it may take up to a few weeks after vaccination for the body to develop immunity in the form of antibodies against the virus.
“Those first eight days are really critical,” said Mugele. “People still need to be absolutely isolated. They have to wear the mask, they have to wash their hands, they have to avoid going out before receiving the benefit of the vaccine.”
‘That was pure luck’
Mugele said he still plans to receive his second dose on Jan. 12, assuming he has been asymptomatic for about a week before. He also emphasized that his infection was not a sign of anything wrong with the vaccine.
“It was pure luck,” he said. “It turns out that I was exposed a few days after receiving the vaccine, but this is still the best tool we have to fight the virus”.
As an emergency room physician, Mugele also had a higher risk of infection than many Americans, especially since his hospital is packed with coronavirus patients.
“Our hospital is very similar to any other hospital in the country,” he said. “We have higher volumes than we have ever had.”
The launch of the vaccine in the USA is going slowly
The average daily hospital stay has tripled in the United States in the past two months, reaching a peak of almost 125,000 on Tuesday. Mugele said he regrets that another doctor has to cover his shift during this critical period.
“The changes today are very, very difficult,” he said. “We are seeing people in non-ideal conditions, like in the hall or in the waiting room, so it is a stressful, stressful work environment. Everyone is already exhausted.”
Although vaccines are still the fastest way to stop the pandemic, the implementation of immunization in the United States has been painfully slow compared to what federal authorities had predicted. Earlier this month, the Trump administration predicted that 20 million Americans would receive a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. The United States has shipped about 14 million doses so far, but only about 2.6 million people have received their first injections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
“It is very important that until we have widespread vaccination rates across the country, even if you have both doses of the vaccine, you still have to be careful,” said Mugele. “You still have to wear your mask in public and you still have to avoid big meetings and you still have to wash your hands. We’re still in the middle of this thing.”
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