Mumbai: Two Tested Positive for COVID-19 Just Days After Receiving First Vaccine Shot

A doctor and a community health worker from BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai have tested positive for COVID-19 just days after receiving the first doses of the vaccine. 

Experts said that this illustrates the need for people to remain vigilant and follow the safety and health protocols even after receiving their first doses of vaccine. Both received the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

The doctor, a 46-year old man, received the first dosage of the vaccine on January 30 and didn’t suffer any side-effects. However, he tested positive roughly nine days later. 

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Meanwhile, the health worker, a woman in her 50s, tested positive four days after the vaccine shot. Both have suffered moderate infection and are currently hospitalized. 

The doctor is reportedly receiving treatment at the SevenHills Hospital in Marol. “I am recovering now and glad that I didn’t need any oxygen support,” he said. After developing body ache, fever, and a runny nose on February 9, the doctor underwent a rapid antigen test. When the test came out positive, he got an RT-PCR test done just to be doubly sure which also returned a positive result. 

The health worker is part of community health programmes and took the vaccine on January 16 when the vaccination drive began. She tested positive just four days later after coming down with a fever. 

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An official from her ward said that she was hospitalized and received Remdesivir as treatment. The good news is that the health worker has fully recovered now and has also resumed working. 

Immunologist from Wadia Hospital, Dr Mukesh Desai said that these cases cannot be deemed as a failure of the vaccine. In general, the vaccine can take some time to generate immunity in a person’s system, particularly since it’s a two-dose vaccine. While a single shot generates some immunity, it doesn’t fully protect the inoculated person. 

Dr Desai said that the vaccine’s efficiency can be questioned only when a person tests positive after 15 days of receiving the second dosage. Specialists say that it can take around 10-15 days for the immune response to develop after taking a shot. 

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