‘Care needed’ after getting COVID vaccine

As reported by BBC news, people who have had COVID vaccines are being warned to still take care

Vaccination has been shown to prevent severe infection, so even if people do catch the virus, they would be protected from getting seriously ill.

The call comes as an NHS nurse working for the Hywel Dda University Health Board area said she contracted COVID-19 while waiting for her second dose. The health board said while the vaccine “reduces your chance of suffering”, “no vaccine is 100% effective”.

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, which started being rolled out in the UK last month, offers up to 95% protection against COVID-19.

The hospital nurse, who works in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area in west Wales, said she felt “angry and heartbroken” about catching COVID at this stage.

The nurse, who has asked not to be identified, said she was initially relieved to be offered the chance of a vaccine and despite difficulties getting an appointment, she said she received her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine last month.

“It gave me peace of mind. It made me feel safer and that I was doing the right thing for my family… but it gives a false sense of security,” she said.

The nurse said she was told it would take 10 days for the vaccine to offer some protection and reduce the risk of transmission.

However, three weeks after the jab, she said she began to feel unwell – with “quite severe symptoms” of a bad cough, high temperature and breathlessness – and said she was “shocked” when she tested positive for coronavirus.

She said her partner and one of her children also tested positive.