That COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and are being rapidly administered is no reason to let our guards down. The established and highly recommended protocols should be strictly observed. As if to underscore this, reports are that a 45-year-old emergency room nurse from San Diego who got the first of the two dosages of the vaccine has tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego, told KGTV, an affiliate of ABC News, San Diego that the situation was not unexpected since patients do not immediately develop COVID-19 protection after taking the vaccine.

The vaccines approved to date all require patients to get two doses for full protection; the first gives 50 percent and the second takes it up to approximately 95 percent. However, based on clinical trials it takes about 10 – 14 days after the first dosage for protection to begin. According to Ramers, the nurse could have been exposed to the virus after being inoculated or could have had the virus before.

While there is optimism there is the reminder that the vaccine will not be a quick fix to the problem. It is therefore imperative that mask-wearing, social/physical distancing, and frequent handwashing and sanitizing continue to be the order of the day for as long as is necessary.