BROOMFIELD, Colorado – A fully vaccinated Broomfield man suspects he contracted a variant of COVID-19. Now, he hopes his experience will encourage others to take precautions as public health orders are reduced.
“I was completely vaccinated over a month ago, so I felt I was safe from COVID,” Kraig Vandiver said.
Late last week he began to experience a itchy throat and small cough. He decided to take the COVID-19 test and waited for the results to confirm that he was battling a minor cold.
“I was absolutely shocked when I found out I tested positive,” Vandiver said.
Vandiver said CDPHE contacted him shortly after and told him he probably contracted a variant of the disease.
“[She said] it was safe to assume it was the British variant to which she was probably exposed, ”Vandiver said.
In early March, state health officials warned that more contagious variants of COVID-19 were on the rise. In mid-March, officials said the variants accounted for 30 percent of Colorado positive cases.
On Wednesday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the UK variant, B.1.1.7, had become the dominant strain in the United States.
“There’s a certain percentage of people who will test positive after vaccination,” said Dr. Ross Kedl, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz School of Medicine. The key feature of getting the vaccine: the ideal is to prevent it from becoming infected, but ultimately to avoid extreme illness, going to the hospital and dying. “
Vandiver credited his vaccination for the reason he did not suffer a more extreme case with the disease.
“I really think that because I was vaccinated, my symptoms were milder than they would have been if I hadn’t been vaccinated,” he said. “If you even feel you have mild symptoms, take the right precautions. Take the test, don’t wait. That would be my best advice.”