BROOMFIELD, Colorado – A fully vaccinated Broomfield man is suspected of contracting a variant of COVID-19. Now, he hopes his experience will encourage others to use precautions as public health orders are eased.
“I was completely vaccinated over a month ago, so I felt safe with COVID,” said Kraig Vandiver.
At the end of last week, he began to feel itchy and a slight cough. He decided to be tested for COVID-19 and expected the results to confirm that he was battling a minor cold.
“I was absolutely shocked to learn that I gave positive results,” Vandiver said.
Vandiver said he was contacted by CDPHE shortly afterwards and told him he had probably contracted a variant of the disease.
“[She said] it was safe to assume that it was the British version I was probably exposed to, “Vandiver said.
In early March, state health officials warned that several contagious variants of COVID-19 were on the rise. By mid-March, officials said 30 percent of Colorado’s positive cases were clear.
On Wednesday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the British version, B.1.1.7, had become the dominant strain in the United States.
“There is a certain percentage of people who will give positive results after vaccination,” said Dr. Ross Kedl, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. The key feature of the vaccine: ideally, it prevents you from becoming infected, but the bottom line prevents you from getting extremely ill, going to the hospital and dying. “
Vandiver attributed the vaccination to the reason why he did not suffer a more extreme case of 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 that you have mild symptoms, take the appropriate precautions. Take your test – don’t wait. That would be my best advice.”