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A San Diego County health worker who was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 contracted the disease, the first known case of its kind in the region. But public health officials don’t want the case to be alarming.
Dr Eric McDonald, San Diego County Medical Director of Epidemiology and Immunization, said the case has been identified in recent days. The health worker, who was not further identified, was exposed and exhibited symptoms. A test then confirmed the positive result.
McDonald pointed out that – with vaccines that are about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection – it is possible that a small group of individuals will contract the virus after taking both doses of the vaccine.
“We expect more [cases]”McDonald said at Wednesday’s weekly briefing on the COVID-19 disease in San Diego County.” We expect the number to be low and we expect most cases to be like the one just reported. ”
NBC 7’s Steven Luke shares what you need to know in San Diego County on the morning of February 18, 2021.
The highest level of protection against COVID-19 comes about two weeks after a person has received their second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not known how long after receiving their second dose that the San Diego health worker became infected.
Although some can contract COVID-19 after inoculation, people should not be discouraged from getting the vaccine. The CDC adds that even if a fully vaccinated person contracts COVID-19, the vaccine can help them avoid becoming seriously ill. Evidence also shows that there are fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations among those vaccinated.
In the case of San Diego’s first positive vaccine, the health worker showed “minimal symptoms,” according to McDonald’s.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease. But a new factor still under investigation is the introduction of mutated strains of the COVID-19 disease.
There are at least three variant strains circulating in the United States, and California has reported cases involving two of these strains. The majority of the mutated cases in California were located in San Diego County, which may be due to the region’s emphasis on genome sequencing at the local level.
With the spread of new variants of COVID-19 from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, doctors are rushing to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before more mutations appear. One Medical Regional Director Dr Natasha Bhuyan joined LX News to explain why vaccines are so important right now and how she encourages her patients to overcome their skepticism about it.
The variants appear to spread easier and faster than the original COVID-19 strain. Although the CDC believes the vaccine will also prevent infection with these strains, more research is needed.
Scientists in San Diego are contributing to this research, especially when cases arise among people who have been vaccinated, like the San Diego health care worker.
“We are looking at these cases by analyzing them through a full genome sequence to see what relationship it has to vaccines,” McDonald said.
The coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be safe, but some of the temporary side effects can seem pretty harsh – especially when you get that second dose. Iahn Gonsenhauser, head of patient safety at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, described his own experience of fever and “extreme” chills after his second injection so you’ll know what to expect.
It’s important to note, however, that the vaccine itself won’t give someone COVID-19. People have reported side effects – like fever, chills, fatigue, and headaches – after receiving the vaccine, but these symptoms are normal signs the body is building up immunity to COVID-19 , the CDC said.
Even with the vaccine, it is possible that people can be “spreaders” if they are exposed to the virus. These people may not have any symptoms. So the CDC says people should stay socially distanced, wear their masks, continue to wash their hands and avoid gatherings.
So far, about 5% of San Diego’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 17% of the population had at least their first shot. But with supply issues affecting appointment availability, the process of raising this latest statistic is slowing down.
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