2 of the 3 Locally Transmitted COVID-19 Cases Have Taken 2 Vaccine Doses

When Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna announced their efficacy rates – 95% and 94% – there was something in those numbers that we didn’t want to confront.

The efficacy rates for both vaccines are certainly impressive, but it means that for every 100 people who get either vaccine, 5 to 6 people will not develop immunity from COVID-19.

We put this out of our minds at the time, believing that since it was such a small percentage, it’d only happen to humans in some faraway planet in space.

But we’re now seeing evidence that vaccinated individuals can get infected. However, they will likely not have any symptoms.

2 of the 3 Locally Transmitted COVID-19 Cases Have Taken 2 Vaccine Doses

If you rubbed your eyes after checking the COVID-19 numbers for the day, you weren’t the only one.

A total of 39 COVID-19 cases were recorded yesterday, three of whom were locally transmitted infections.

They included two community cases and one from a migrant workers’ dormitory.

One of the community cases is a 38-year-old Indonesian man who arrived in Singapore on 28 March for a work project.

He had been vaccinated in Indonesia before his trip – he received his first dose on 4 March and his second dose on 18 March.

He was issued a stay-home notice (SHN) upon arrival which he served until 11 April. He tested negative during his quarantine.

But when he took a pre-departure test on Thursday (22 Apr) before his flying back to Indonesia, his result came back positive.

The other community case is also from Indonesia. The 33-year-old man is a crew member on a ship.

He had arrived here from Indonesia on 4 Feb, testing negative on his arrival and during his SHN.

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the man had not left his vessel except to be vaccinated.

But the coronavirus still somehow found its way to him.

It turns out that the man had received his first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine on 16 April, but has not received his second dose yet.

MOH explained that it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination, so it’s possible to get infected before or just after vaccination.

But there was another COVID-19 patient who had completed his vaccination regimen before getting infected.

The 21-year-old Indian national resides at SCM Tuas Lodge – a migrant workers’ dormitory – and is here on a work permit.

He’s employed by Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard and works at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard.

He had received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on 11 March, and the second on 1 Apr.

However, when the authorities carried out rostered routine testing on Monday (19 Apr), the man’s pooled test result came back positive.

The man is asymptomatic, however, something which MOH believes can be attributed to his vaccination.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those infected, but it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected,” it said.

The ministry added that further research is necessary to ascertain if the vaccine will prevent onward transmission of the virus.

All three locally transmitted cases are currently unlinked.

Another 36 cases were reported, all from abroad. Nine of them were Singaporeans, while seven were permanent residents.

Increase in Community Cases

As you would have guessed, the number of community cases has shot up recently.

The number of new community cases has spiked from four cases two weeks ago to 10 in the past week.

Similarly, the number of unlinked community infections has also increased from three cases to five over the same period.

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