(Reuters) – A California nurse tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving the vaccine from Pfizer Inc, an ABC News affiliate reported https://bit.ly/2L8iBel on Tuesday, but a medical expert said the body needs more time to build protection.
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ARCHIVE PHOTO: A vial of the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is seen before being administered at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast
Matthew W., 45, a nurse from two different local hospitals, said in a Facebook post on Dec. 18 that he had received the vaccine from Pfizer, telling the ABC News affiliate that his arm hurt for a day but had not suffered more side effects.
Six days later, on Christmas Eve, he fell ill after working a shift at the COVID-19 unit, the report added. He had chills and later began to experience muscle pain and fatigue.
He went to a hospital test site and tested positive for COVID-19 the day after Christmas, the report said.
Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist at the Family Health Centers in San Diego, told ABC News affiliate that this scenario was not unexpected.
“We know from clinical vaccine tests that it will take about 10 to 14 days for you to start developing vaccine protection,” said Ramers.
“We believe that the first dose gives you around 50%, and you need the second dose to reach 95%,” added Ramers.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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