CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The following is a first-hand column from WCNC Charlotte's Bill McGinty:
Yes, it's possible to get COVID-19 after you've been vaccinated.
Just ask me. I experienced firsthand what it was like to be a "breakthrough case." I'm one of the thousands, of the millions who have been vaccinated, to get COVID-19.
The first thing people ask me is what shot did I get. I received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in April and thought I was foolproof. I was aware of studies from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that reported "the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine was 66.3% effective in a clinical trial (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. People had the most protection two weeks after getting vaccinated."
I believe I was exposed at a family gathering on Father’s Day weekend. In my immediate family, I am the only one sick. The other three, like me, were vaccinated. The only difference is they received the Pfizer two-shot vaccine, whereas I received Johnson and Johnson's one-shot vaccine.
Naturally, I had many questions. I sought answers from doctors Karla and Rob Robinson of the Urban Housecall.
Will I need a COVID-19 booster shot?
“There is a lot of science out there right now, but the data really just isn’t there yet on boosters, although the medical community is looking at it and studying it,” Dr. Karla Robinson said.
If people do not have confidence in whatever vaccine they received, is it OK to double up and get a different kind, basically mixing two different kinds?
“At this time, it is not being advised to get a booster vaccine or to even mix vaccines," Karla Robinson said. "The data is just not there yet on the safety of mixing vaccines, or if there is even increased efficacy in mixing the vaccines, but there are ongoing trials regarding that very thing."
If I was diagnosed with coronavirus, will I have a stronger immunity to COVID-19 going forward?
Both doctors said the data is not in yet on how strong antibodies are for people who are vaccinated and recovered from COVID-19, so that question remains unanswered.