WAUKESHA — At least 100 Waukesha County residents have reported contracting COVID-19 after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s according to responses on the county’s COVID-19 contact tracing forms obtained by TMJ4 News. More than 270,000 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in Waukesha County as of Tuesday morning.
For privacy reasons the county could not release the actual forms, but tallied up the number of people who answered that they had already received a vaccine when being diagnosed with COVID-19.
It is unclear if those diagnosed had completed a vaccine series, or if they had only received one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Medical experts warned people are not fully protected until two weeks after the second shot, or 15 days after the single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Dr. Matt Anderson of UW-Health in Madison says, “it’s not instantaneous, your body has to mount that immune response to the vaccine itself.”
He added, “they have substantial protection against risk for hospitalization, death and other serious complications.”
Waukesha County Health Officer Benjamen Jones said that “until people are fully vaccinated and past that immunity window. So two weeks past their second vaccine, they could still get COVID.”
Dr. Anderson noted that the likelihood of someone getting COVID-19 after the vaccine is small, but possible.
“It’s absolutely expected that there are going to be some small numbers of people who are fully vaccinated, who if exposed and under the right circumstances will end up being infected.”
Anderson added, “it’s not 100% efficacy, meaning that people who have been fully vaccinated can contract COVID.”
The vaccine does not carry the live virus, so medical experts believe people can contract it through contact with an infected person, even after the vaccine shot. While a person waits to be fully vaccinated, they recommend wearing a mask, socially distancing, and washing your hands.