A California nurse tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving the vaccine, although medical experts say the timeline is not unusual.
Emergency nurse Matthew W., who works at two different hospitals in San Diego, received the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Dec. 18 and initially reported arm pain for a day, according to KGTV.
The 45-year-old nurse felt ill after working her shift at the COVID-19 unit seven days after Christmas Eve.
The nurse experienced classic symptoms such as fatigue, chills, and body aches. Two days later, Matthew was tested in a driving hospital and his results turned positive for the coronavirus, according to the medium.
Dr. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist at the San Diego Family Health Centers, told KGTV that Matthew may have contracted the virus before receiving the shot, as it takes about two weeks to start the first dose of the vaccine.
“We know from clinical trials of the vaccine that it will take about ten or ten days for you to start developing protection against the vaccine,” Ramers said. “The first dose we think provides you with around 50% and you need that second dose to get to 95%.”
Ramers added that people should not lower their guard even if they have been vaccinated and that they should continue to follow protocols such as hand washing and the use of masks during the pandemic.
“You feel that health professionals are very optimistic about it being the beginning of the end, but it will be a slow process, from weeks to months as we deploy the vaccine,” the specialist said.