LAKE FOREST, CA – Three weeks after a Lake Forest man received his second dose of vaccination from Pfizer, he got a call saying that no one wanted to hear from the Orange County Health Bureau: he tested positive for coronavirus.
Gary Michael, a Lake Forest resident, assumed he was safe from the virus. He learned he was wrong.
“They told me yes, I am positive for coronavirus,” Michael told the media. He was advised to quarantine while they examined his litany of symptoms.
It is not known which strain of coronavirus he tested. Michael said his girlfriend’s test was positive on January 23, less than a week after receiving his second dose of the vaccine.
Michael received his first dose on December 28 and the second on January 18, but was exposed five days after his second injection, he reported. He was tested after visiting Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo for an unrelated medical reason.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the Pfizer vaccine is only 95 percent effective, it is not known what would cause 5 percent to be infected with the virus later. According to Michael, his symptoms are minor, says a Mercury News report.
Scientists believe that optimal immunity from vaccination against COVID-19 occurs two to three weeks after the second dose is received, according to OC Health Care. This would place Michael in the category “still vulnerable” to coronavirus at the time he was exposed.
The Orange County Health Agency continues to advise all residents, whether vaccinated or not, to wash their hands frequently, wear a mask, practice physical distance away from home and avoid meeting with people outside their family circle.