Congressman Who Was Vaccinated for COVID-19 Tests Positive for the Virus
Verified Research
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Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 29. Lynch received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and is currently showing no symptoms.
Lynch is one of many congressmen that have tested positive for the virus in the past few weeks.
“This afternoon U.S. Representative Stephen F. Lynch received a positive test result for COVID-19 after a staff member in the Congressman’s Boston office had tested positive earlier in the week,” Lynch’s spokeswoman, Molly Rose Tarpey, said in a statement Friday.
Tarpey also added that the congressman received a negative test before attending President Biden’s inauguration. Lynch will self-quarantine, and vote by proxy in Congress in the coming weeks.
Tarpey did not specify the exact dates that the congressman received each dose of the vaccine, but said he received the second dose earlier this month.
The vaccine prevents illness and severe symptoms, but does not necessarily prevent one from infection of COVID-19. The CDC notes that, “It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination.”
For this reason, if somebody tests positive for the virus within a few weeks of receiving the vaccine, then the vaccine may not have fully kicked in. Additionally, if somebody tests positive for the vaccine, but does not have any symptoms, the vaccine is working properly.
Pfizer and Moderna said their vaccines are “about 95% effective at preventing people from getting sick after getting the second dose.” It is also not clear if the vaccine can block transmission yet.
Congresswoman Lori Trahan also tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 28. She tweeted that she will be self-quarantining, and will cast her votes using the House proxy voting system.
A few members of congress along with over 30 Capitol police officers tested positive for COVID-19 after the attack on the Capitol. The members of Congress say they contracted the virus during a shelter-in-place, where many members chose not to wear a mask. Officials also claim that the riot was a “likely a super spreader event.”
