California nurse contracts Covid a week after receiving vaccine, but doctors say no cause for alarm

It is still possible to contract Covid-19 after getting the first dose of the vaccine

A nurse in California has tested positive for Covid-19 more than a week after receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

10 News San Diego reported that a 45-year-old nurse in the city reported feeling ill about a week after receiving his Pfizer vaccine. He started feeling sick on Christmas Eve, and sought out a Covid-19 test on Christmas. His test came back positive.

The nurse works between two healthcare facilities.

Dr Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego, told 10 News that the nurse's condition is not unexpected.

"It's not unexpected at all. If you work through the numbers, this is exactly what we’d expect to happen if someone was exposed," the doctor said.

Dr Ramers also noted that the the nurse could have been exposed the week prior to receiving his vaccine, as Covid-19 has a 14 day incubation window.

"We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine," Dr Ramers said.

The doctor said he has heard of other instances in which healthcare workers contracted the virus around the same time they received the vaccine.

He said the first dose of the vaccine provides around "50 per cent" protection, while the second dose boosts that to around "95 per cent."

The doctor said that the nurse's situation was a good reminder that the pandemic is far from over, and that people must continue to be vigilant.

"You hear heath practitioners being very optimistic about it being the beginning of the end, but it’s going to be a slow roll, weeks to months as we roll out the vaccine," Dr Ramers said.

The nurse who contracted Covid-19 told the local broadcaster that he had been feeling better since his diagnosis, though he was still feeling fatigued.