Another vaccinated OFW found positive for coronavirus in Cebu

CEBU CITY—Another returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW), who recently got the Pfizer vaccine, tested positive for SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in Cebu.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas, said a 25-year-old woman, who came from Canada, had one dose of Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 13 prior to her trip to Cebu. Pfizer vaccines are taken in two doses.

She arrived here on Feb. 9 and immediately went on quarantine.

On Feb. 14, her fifth day of isolation, the OFW was swabbed and results of tests showed she was positive for the virus.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is possible for a person to still get infected “just before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to provide protection.”

Loreche said the female OFW from Canada is currently in isolation.

Prior to her release from isolation, Loreche said the OFW will have to take antibody tests.

“We want to determine the level of IgG so that we will be able to know the level of immunity she currently has,” Loreche said.

The case is the second involving a returning OFW who tested positive for coronavirus even if they had already been vaccinated abroad.

The first one was that of a 43-year-old man from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who had received two doses of Sinopharm vaccine, which is manufactured by a state-owned company in China, prior to arrival in Cebu.

He completed quarantine but when he was tested again before going back to UAE, results showed he was positive for the virus.

TSB