Two Nurses Confirmed COVID-19-Positive After Receiving Vaccines. They May Have Contracted the Virus Before Antibodies Were Produced

[경향신문]

“More Nursing Staff According to the Severity of Symptoms in COVID-19 Wards” Nurses of the Health Workers’ Solidarity Headquarters and Nurses in Action wear personal protective equipment and demand standards for dispatching nursing staff according to the severity of symptoms at COVID-19 wards and more nursing staff, and call for the government to strengthen the public aspect of health care at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul on March 7. Kang Yoon-joong

Two nurses at the National Medical Center, who received the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19, were found to be positive for the novel coronavirus. They contracted the virus despite receiving the primary dose of the vaccine, because it takes 3-4 weeks after the first shot is administered for the body to produce antibodies, and a second shot of the vaccine is necessary to better produce antibodies.

According to the National Medical Center on March 7, two nurses in New Ward 7, which accommodates COVID-19 patients with light symptoms, were confirmed positive for the novel coronavirus. The nurse that was first found positive started showing signs of a fever on March 5, was tested for COVID-19, and confirmed positive on March 6.

The Medical Center then conducted tests of all forty staff working in New Ward 7 and found one more nurse who had contracted the virus.

The Medical Center put all forty staff who were tested including six employees who worked the same night shift under quarantine and shut down New Ward 7. The eight COVID-19 patients in the ward were all relocated to another ward.

The two nurses who contracted the virus had received the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine on February 28. Jung Jae-hun, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon University Gil Medical Center said over the phone, “It takes 3-4 weeks after the first shot is administered for the vaccine to take effect, and it takes another week after the second shot for the vaccine to be fully effective.” He also said, “You can’t take off your mask or ignore distancing just because you received the vaccine.”

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight March 7, a total of 314,656 people have received the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. The number of allergic reactions reported increased by 806 to a total of 3,689 cases. Among the newly reported 806 cases, 794 cases were light symptoms, such as headache and fever, while nine cases are suspected of anaphylaxis, and two were serious symptoms such as seizures. As of this afternoon, the number of deaths following vaccination has increased by two to a total of nine.

Disease control authorities will announce the result of an investigation on the causal relations between the serious allergic reactions following COVID-19 vaccination and the vaccines on March 8. They are expected to release the results of a review on the deaths and serious cases other than those suspected of anaphylaxis. The authorities held a private meeting with the team investigating the damages on this issue this day.

The COVID-19 vaccination response team will hold a meeting of an expert panel on vaccination this week and discuss whether or not to permit the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on senior citizens aged 65 and older. The Disease Control Headquarters announced that the amendment of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which will allow additional punishment for people who intentionally interfere with the COVID-19 contact tracing or violate quarantine guidelines, will be promulgated and enforced on March 9.

As of midnight this day, the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases was 416, two fewer than the previous day. Sporadic clusters of transmission centered on worksites with a closed environment where a dense population work close together and care hospitals continue.

Yoon Tae-ho, director of disease control at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said, “For seven weeks from mid-January, 300-400 cases have been confirmed daily,” and added, “We witnessed the daily average number of cases shooting from 400 at the end of last year to over 1,000 in just four weeks, so we cannot relax when it comes to disease control.”