As questions relating to the new COVID vaccines continue to mount, a politician from Texas had an interesting experience after receiving one from Pfizer.
Take this with a grain of salt, but a Texas lawmaker who received her first dose of the vaccine has tested positive for COVID.
Rep. Kay Granger (Texas), the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, is not feeling symptoms, according to her spokesperson.
“When she arrived in DC for the beginning of the 117th Congress, Congresswoman Kay Granger was tested for coronavirus in accordance with the Attending Physician’s guidance for Members when traveling from their home state. She was later notified that she tested positive and immediately quarantined. Having received the vaccine in December, she is asymptomatic and feeling great! She will remain under the care of her doctor," Granger spokesperson Sarah Flaim said in a statement.
Before learning of her positive test, Granger participated in House floor votes on Sunday, including the Speaker election.
Members of Congress are advised to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in Washington, but can still go about their regular business while awaiting their results if they don't have symptoms or any known exposure to the virus. The Capitol's testing system provides results within one day at the most, although often in a matter of hours.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is shown to provide some protection against COVID-19 about 10 days after receiving the first dose, but the second dose provides a longer-term boost.
Pfizer has said that the vaccine efficacy after the first dose is about 52 percent, but it goes up to 95 percent after the second dose — which is administered three weeks later.
Representative Kay Granger, a Republican from Texas, speaks during a House-Senate committee meeting on border security in Washington D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The meeting produced no breakthroughs but both sides hinted that they may be able to agree on some form of fencing as part of a larger package of border improvements. Photographer: Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images.