- After receiving both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Massachusetts representative Stephen Lynch tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokesman told Business Insider.
- “While Mr Lynch remains asymptomatic and feels good, he will place self-quarantine and will vote in Congress during the coming week,” his spokesman said.
- It usually takes a few weeks to develop immunity to the coronavirus after being vaccinated.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday after receiving two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to his spokesman.
“U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch received a positive test result for COVID-19 after a staff member in Congress’s office in Boston tested positive earlier this week,” said Molly Rose Tarpey, Lynch’s communications director. said a statement to Business Insider.
“While Mr Lynch remains asymptomatic and feels good, he will place self-quarantine and will be voted on by Congress in the coming week by the plenipotentiary,” she said, adding. negative COVID-19 test before attending President Biden, “which took place on 20 January.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the body can take up to several weeks to develop immunity to the coronavirus after vaccination.
“This means that it is possible for someone to become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still become ill,” the agency said. “This is because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.”
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is two doses given 21 days apart. Pfizer said the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing COVID-19 seven days after the second shot was given.
‘Stupid happiness’
A vial containing the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
Vincent Kalut / Photonews via Getty Images
It is also possible to contract COVID-19 during the period between the first and second shot.
Another Massachusetts lawmaker, Lori Trahan, tested positive for the coronavirus this week after receiving her first dose of vaccine. Trahan received her first shot last week, one of her spokesmen told The Washington Post on Saturday.
COVID-19 vaccines contain small pieces of genetic material that teach your immune system how to fight the coronavirus by developing antibodies against viruses. These pieces of messenger RNA may not make you sick with COVID-19, but it will take a while before they do their job. For example, the Pfizer vaccine is only 52% effective in preventing COVID-19 after the first dose.
Therefore, it is critical that people continue to wear masks during the period between doses and in the weeks following their second dose.
Josh Mugele.
Josh Mugele
One doctor who contracted the coronavirus after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, Josh Mugele, said his infection was not a sign that the vaccine was not working.
“It was just dumb luck,” Mugele told Insider earlier. “I happened to be exposed within a few days of getting the vaccine, but it’s still the best tool to fight the virus.”
As an emergency physician, Mugele also had a greater risk of infection than many Americans, especially since his hospital was full of coronavirus patients.
More than 26 million people in the U.S. contracted the coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University; more than 440,000 Americans died.
Aria Bendix, Andrea Michelson and Anna Medaris Miller contributed reporting to this story.