A San Diego County medical worker who was completely vaccinated against COVID-19 contracted the disease, the first known case of its kind in the region. But public health officials do not want this case to be a cause for alarm.
Dr. Eric McDonald, San Diego County’s medical director for epidemiology and immunization, said the case has been identified in the past few days. The health worker, who has not been identified, was exposed and showed symptoms. A test then confirmed the positive result.
McDonald pointed out that – with vaccines that are about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection – there is a possibility that a small group of people will get the virus after taking both doses of the vaccine.
“It simply came to our notice then [cases]”McDonald said in Wednesday’s weekly briefing on 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. ”
Steven Luke, NBC 7, 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 receives the second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is unclear how long after receiving the second dose, the San Diego worker became infected.
Although some may get COVID-19 after inoculation, people should not be discouraged from getting the vaccine. The CDC adds that even if a fully vaccinated individual gets COVID-19, the vaccine can help them get seriously ill. Evidence also shows that there are fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations among vaccinated individuals.
In the case of the first positive vaccine in San Diego, the medical worker showed “minimal symptoms,” according to McDonald.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease. But a new factor that is still being studied is the introduction of mutant strains of COVID-19 disease.
There are at least three variants of strains circulating in the United States and California reported cases involving two of these strains. Most of the cases moved from California were located in San Diego County, which may be due to the region’s emphasis on local genome sequencing.
With the new COVID-19 variants in the UK, South Africa and Brazil now spreading, doctors are rushing to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before more mutations occur. Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, regional director of One Medical, joined LX News to talk about why vaccines are so important right now and how they encourage their patients to overcome their skepticism about it.
The variants seem to spread easier and faster than the original COVID-19 strain. While the CDC believes the vaccine will also prevent infection with these strains, more research is needed.
San Diego scientists contribute to this research, especially when there are cases among vaccinated people, such as the San Diego worker.
“We look at these cases by looking at them through an entire genome sequence to see what this has to do with vaccines,” McDonald said.
The coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be safe, but some of the temporary side effects can be quite severe – especially when you receive the second dose. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief patient safety officer at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, described his experience with “extreme” fever and chills after the second blow, so you know what to expect.
It is important to note, however, that the vaccine itself will not provide COVID-19 to anyone. People have reported some side effects – such as fever, chills, fatigue and headache – after receiving the blow, but these symptoms are normal signs that the body is building immunity to COVID-19, the CDC said.
Even with the vaccine, there is a possibility 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 distance themselves, wear masks, continue washing their hands and avoid gatherings.
To date, approximately 5% of the population of San Diego is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 17% of the population had at least the first blow. But with supply problems affecting the availability of programming, the process of increasing the latter statistics is slowing down.