Getting Covid after vaccinated

COVID-19
#1

We have now have had a case of a fully vaccinated person getting covid. No symptoms and the household members so far aren’t testing positive. It’s early yet though.

We only know because we have a very strong travel related testing program. A medical person was fully vaccinated at the end of January and a month later traveled to several US cities and came back and is now testing positive.

The worry here has been that vaccinated people will think it’s safe to be around people and not be careful and end up unknowingly giving it to someone. The announcement of our attorney general (who can’t be trusted so?) has said that in one out of twenty the vaccine won’t work.

#2

The vaccine trials only looked at the effectiveness of vaccines preventing illness.

If the person has no symptoms and is not ill, the vaccine still “worked.” It just didn’t prevent them from contracting the virus.

I agree that the messaging regarding vaccines is not clear. I have gotten my first dose of the vaccine, but will continue to take precautions until my husband and I are both fully vaccinated. That way I do not unwittingly become a carrier and get him sick.

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#3

Particularly with J&J vaccine. You may still get Covid, but not severe.

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#4

You shouldn’t die if you have been vaccinated, but giving it to others is a pretty big concern. Thanks for the reminder, Marie. Gotta continue to be very, very careful.

#5

We now have 3 cases of fully vaccinated people testing positive for Covid. All people that traveled. So far it doesn’t look like they have transmitted it to anyone else. But it’s still too early to really know.

Because of our testing protocol from traveling it was caught early, so it’s possible they haven’t been around anyone to give it to someone else anyways. They are not releasing a lot of information yet.

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#6

We’ve had full outbreaks in long-term care homes where most residents and staff were vaccinated here. That’s why everyone needs to continue to follow precautions, regardless of vaccination status. (The good news is that the outbreaks don’t seem to spread as explosively and the illness is milder, according to health officials.)

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#7

The vaccine is ‘NOT’ a guarantee that you will not get the virus. Keep being as vigilant in the future as you are now. Wearing an effective mask and wearing that mask correctly will work to protect you from others and others from you. IF a vaccine is 90% effective and a mask is 80% effective, the result is an effectiveness of 98%. BUT the chance of getting the virus after being vaccinated and while wearing a mask is still 10% (Math geniuses and statisticians feel free to correct me)(my studies of logical arguments is old and I may be forgetting some). Also the elected politicians are caught between doing what their constituents want and what is best for those constituents. The United States, as in some other counties, allows for the legal actions/independence/choice of the individual to sometimes override the legal actions/independence/choice of the masses. Travel to those countries is likely to expose the travelers to those who ‘may’ be less vigilant than those countries that ‘lock down’ severely, as China. Just part of the ‘freedom’ of choice. Research the "Spanish Flu’ of 1917 - 1919; I think that is the span. Of course there were extenuating circumstances in that pandemic also.

#8

@Jen, we opened up vacc to everyone age 16+ today. That means that we will be wrapping this up soon and vacc should be coming your direction. Are all the other States doing 16+?

I’m not super worried about getting covid, personally, after vacc. But, I will be cautious about spreading the superbugs I want those variants dead because their just gonna turn into worse variants and well have to make ANOTHER vaccine.

Nursing homes look fine here. They are all opened up.

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#9

Yes, I am aware you can still get sick when you have had the vaccine. Hopefully they are saying at least no one’s been hospitalized or died after the J&J one. But the biggest thing is the chance that if you can still get it, then you might still be able to pass it to someone else. All these people that think that life can completely return to normal after vaccinated is nuts. We have documented cases of people that have gotten it after they have been vaccinated, it’s easy to know because of our double test requirement. I have heard of a few cases of outbreaks in homes where people have been vaccinated so it sure seems like it can still be passed to someone else, because otherwise why would there be a bunch of cases at once in patients vaccinated. So my mask and hopefully everyone else’s will stay on when out and about.

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#10

I know of someone who got Covid a month after his second vaccine. He is up in age and had underlying health conditions. He did get sick and was hospitalized for a few days. The vaccine probably saved his life.

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#11

You guys already sent us 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In my province, that vaccine was going to be used for frontline workers, but it’s now been suspended for use for those under 55 due to concerns about blot clots. Our province pivoted to give the vaccine to the 55-65 age group, so my parents were able to grab a spot and get their AstraZeneca shot last week, which is great.

We are still only in phase 2 of 4 here (I think most provinces are similar), meaning vaccines have just opened up to groups considered to be clinically vulnerable. Luckily for me, that group includes people with diabetes on insulin. So I’m scheduled to get my vaccine (either Pfizer or Moderna) next week, assuming one question I have for my doctor gets the OK. Otherwise, those under 72 who don’t qualify for a risk group are still waiting. I’m fairly sure most provinces are delaying the second dose by several months due to the shortage. But I think one dose is fairly effective on its own, though not ideal.

Unfortunately, the vaccines have come a bit too late and the third wave is hitting hard here. Cases are down in long-term care homes (though there have still been multiple outbreaks despite vaccines, but milder than in the past). The variants are causing younger people to get much sicker than before, so ICUs are still at risk of being overwhelmed. My province just went into a three-week “circuit breaker” lockdown and Ontario and Quebec have followed suit, and Alberta and Saskatchewan are also seeing skyrocketing cases. Feels much like it did around this time last year, to be honest, with everyone basically told to stay home and restaurants closed and new variants circulating that are much more contageous.

It is honestly weird to me to read or watch US news and hear people talking as if the pandemic is almost over, some are even already using past tense! Definitely not the case here. The next couple months may be some of the most challenging yet, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.

#12

@Jen It’s definitely not past tense here. Cases are on the rise in several areas and dropping in others. Hospitalizations are still down everywhere I believe, but with the new variant that is making more and younger people sick who knows exactly what will happen as it mutates. Europe is doing horrible I gather with the new mutation in some areas.

Some people just see an end to the worse part and are hoping for the best. Being optimistic that it will be controlled soon and hopefully that’s true. But I’m a pessimist about what a lot of those people are thinking that if they act like it’s not there, it’s not there. Head in the sand thing.

We get that with the tourists constantly, a burning need to vacation during a pandemic? Really? That is saying more than anything I don’t care about anyone else.

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#13

Oh, sure. I didn’t mean that it was over at all, which is why I was surprised to see some talking as if it is. No one here is feeling that we’re at the end quite yet. But I do think it’s possible to be optimistic without burying your head in the sand. The USA is in the top few countries as far as vaccine rollout goes, so hopefully whatever increase in cases that may occur there (which seems to be occuring everywhere worldwide) won’t turn into a massive wave. From charts that I have seen, cases in the USA seem fairly flat, while here in Canada we have a definite sharp upswing in cases, and far fewer people vaccinated. Still, I’m definitely optimistic that vaccines will bring an end to this pandemic eventually and that by the latter half of the year we’ll be in a much better place.

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#14

@Jen I know you didn’t meant that!!! I was just saying it is definitely not over here no matter what some are saying. The upswings and downswings here really vary per state and even cities. There are about 10 states that are having a definite increase. The vaccinations we have seem to work against the new more dangerous variant. So hopefully that holds.

Here is a link that shows increases in the US. Scroll down to the colored map.

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#15

@Marie20 , @Jen et al:

I’m a huge fan of the NYT Covid-19 case tracking. They have an equivalent page for vaccine rollout:

It is clear that we are still in the midst of a real struggle and it is far from clear that we are simply going to be able to vaccinate our way out of this mess.

In particular, a number of states in the northeast such as NJ, CT, MA, RI, and PA are near the top of the list of new daily per capita cases AND percentage of population vaccinated. Factors that help explain that are earlier and more widespread distribution of the more transmissible U.K. variant coupled with the 5/6/2 week delay between the time of your first dose and when you are “fully” vaccinated depending on whether you receive Pfizer/Moderna/J&J.

Then there are all the human and social factors: How well are we still social distancing? Have we “restarted” too many closer contact activities too quickly? Indoor dining? Bars? Schools?

And, to me, the scariest unknown is how will refusal to get vaccinated … which will also vary dramatically locale-by-locale … factor into this in the coming months?

Even with the luxury of more rapid rollout of vaccine than most countries, we are really at a tipping point as we approach the so-called fourth wave.

We all have a role in this: I hope that folks will get vaccinated as soon as they can, continue to wear their masks, maintain separation when possible, and try to avoid too many high-exposure situations even if they are “legal” in your community.

Stay safe!

John

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#16

@John_S2 and @Marie20 , I had thought that the USA and UK and other countries with rapid vaccine rollout were somewhat protected from a new surge (not that it wouldn’t happen, but that it wouldn’t be as severe). Here the experts are warning this third wave could be worse than the first two, based on what’s happening in Europe and some other countries. Here’s hoping that vaccines eventually win out and we’ll all be in a much better place six months down the road…

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#17

I think the UK has given a lot of vaccines but they are still having a tremendous surge. They have said the three major vaccines here offer decent protection against the variants. But I believe it varies per vaccine per variant. We are using the Moderna, Pfizer and J&J. I know UK and Canada are using Astra Zeneca and ?, but I think it’s supposed to be fairly good against some of the variants too.

The UK was in a rush just to get people vaccinated and did not keep track of which one people were getting at first, did that make a difference there?

EU had many issues, they were slower to okay the vaccines, they paused about the Astra Zeneca and the blood clotting problems (I don’t blame them for that one), But that limited availability. Then they were more “fiscally conservative” in their ordering. A lot of their health system in has been really struggling with limited funds. Our government just went all hands in and even financed the companies making them before it was even available. Whether you like it or not that was Trump’s doing and helped earlier supply here tremendously.

The countries with the highest obesity rate got hit the hardest. Then other health issues added to the seriousness of infections. But as it mutates it is adapting. I know my eye doctor just expects to eventually get it and just hopes he has enough immunity with his vaccinations to not get that sick. I am sort of thinking that same way.

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#18

I don’t understand why you would think this.

My understanding is that the vaccinations in the UK are performed by the NHS. One difference between the US and the UK is that everyone in the UK (should) have a medical record on file with the NHS. I would expect it to be updated when they were vaccinated.

Would your doctor just leave stuff like vaccinations out of your medical record? Like maybe if the office was busy that day? :upside_down_face:

#19

I know a few people there. And some of the very first ones didn’t have a clue which they got, nor was it in their record. Soon after they announced they would be giving the second shot on whichever vaccine was available. I have always wondered if that was because they didn’t keep track at first or if it was just trying to get as many vaccinated at first as they could and then worry about what was available by the second one. Maybe even both reasons. Now everyone getting a shot knows exactly what they have got and are getting the same one the second time around.

I’m not sure who gave what over there, but here you can get it at clinics and your doctors office doesn’t necessarily have a clue. You don’t have to have a doctor listed, you don’t have to have insurance. And while you were supposed to have an ID, you actually don’t even have to have that as they want undocumented people to get a vaccine too.

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#20

I think Canada is in much the same situation as Europe in regards to vaccination rollout. We’ve had major supply issues up until recently (we have no domestic vaccine production so were/are totally reliant on other countries), and we’ve also paused the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 55 due to blood clot concerns.

Can you site a source for this? I’d be interested in reading. My understanding is that the UK has had virtually no surge compared to many European countries.