(Reuters) – A nurse in California tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving the vaccine from Pfizer Inc., an ABC News affiliate told bit.ly/2L8iBel on Tuesday, but a medical expert said the body needs more time to build up protection.
Matthew W., 45, a nurse at two different local hospitals, said in a Facebook post on Dec. 18 that he had received the Pfizer vaccine and told ABC News affiliate that his arm was sore during a day, but that he had suffered no side effects.
Six days later, on Christmas Eve, he became ill after working on a shift in the COVID-19 unit, according to the report. He had chills and then fell with muscle pain and fatigue.
He went to a hospital test site and tested positive for COVID-19 the day after Christmas, according to the report.
Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist at the San Diego Family Health Centers, told ABC News affiliate that this scenario was not unexpected.
“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.
“We believe this first dose provides you with about 50% and you need this second dose to reach 95%,” Ramers added.
Reports of Kanishka Singh and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Edited by Gareth Jones