One person, however, said on Twitter in response to a local reporter's public inquiry for stories he was among the breakthrough cases and had been hospitalized as a result of his condition. The COVID patients who spoke with the Blade said they had mild symptoms such as fatigue and a mild cough, but exhibited no signs of major illness. None of the coronavirus cases associated with visiting Provincetown appear to be life-threatening. "If you had told me a few days prior, that a bunch of fully vaccinated people were going to be testing positive for COVID, I wouldn't have believed you." "I think, in that moment, I wasn't as surprised because I had started hearing about more people testing positive, but I really didn't have any symptoms, so I was surprised because of that," Ahrens said. resident who came down with coronavirus after spending a week in Provincetown, said he initially obtained a negative test result after returning from his vacation, then upon taking a second test Monday out of an abundance of caution tested positive for COVID. I know close to a dozen other vaccinated people who tested positive."
"My husband and I are fully vaccinated and tested positive yesterday.
"PSA: If you were in Provincetown last week and have cold/flu symptoms, please get tested for Covid," Blain tweeted on Sunday. Kyle Blaine, a White House reporter for CNN, was among the more high-profile individuals who reported having contracted coronavirus after visiting Provincetown over the weekend. All signs and evidence show COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, as medical experts continue to say as they try to convince Americans, many of whom are intransigent against the vaccine, to take their shots.īut the COVID breakthrough cases over a short period of time weren't insignificant in number and put in stark relief the limitations of the vaccine in fully shielding people from coronavirus, including vulnerability from individuals spreading the disease by refusing shots and fears about the emerging Delta variant. To be sure, the anecdotal reports of COVID infections among fully vaccinated people who went to Provincetown doesn't justify refusing the vaccine. "So the whole experience was kind of unexpected."Īt the same time, Coy said he's glad no severe cases were being reported and called the breakthrough outbreak "a nice reminder that we're still kind of learning." "Here in Chicago, I think it's the same in D.C., but people are drawn out here on the dance floor until four in the morning on a Saturday night, and no one has really seemed to be affected," Coy said. There wasn't really any negative pressure against traveling over the Fourth of July for a vaccinated person."Ĭoy, who said he was vaccinated in April and is now largely asymptomatic aside from a mild cough, said finding out about the dozens of people who came down with coronavirus after visiting Provincetown despite being vaccinated was "really surprising." "You went through the whole year-and-a-half of the pandemic and you got vaccinated and do what you're supposed to do. Robert Coy, a gay 28-year-old business strategist from Chicago, told the Washington Blade he tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (July 12) after learning about mild symptoms among housemates during his visit to Provincetown. The surprise outbreak among individuals who did their public duty to get vaccinated is taking many observers aback at a time when Americans who refuse to get the shot, despite overwhelming evidence of safety and effectiveness in combatting coronavirus, are facing heavy criticism, which experts say precludes the nation from reaching herd immunity. Dozens of summer tourists who were among those visiting the gay resort town of Provincetown, Massachusetts over the weekend came back with more than beach memories and a tan: They tested positive for COVID-19 - even though they were fully vaccinated against the disease.