US congressman contracts COVID-19 after receiving two shots of Pfizer vaccine

US Congressman Stephen F. Lynch has tested positive for COVID-19 despite receiving two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, his office said.

Lynch, a 65-year-old who represents the 8th district of Massachusetts in the US Congress, tested positive on Friday “after a staff member in the Congressman’s Boston office had tested positive earlier in the week,” Lynch’s spokesperson, Molly Rose Tarpey, said in a statement, according to the Boston Globe.

“Congressman Lynch had received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and subsequently received a negative COVID-19 test prior to attending President Biden’s Inauguration,” she said.

The spokesperson added that Lynch remains asymptomatic and feels fine, but will continue to self-quarantine and will vote by proxy in Congress during the coming weeks.

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the companies that have created two highly-championed vaccines for the coronavirus, say their vaccines are about 95% effective at preventing people from getting infected with the deadly virus. The two vaccines have been authorized for use in the United States and some other countries.

The vaccine requires two shots administered several weeks apart, and some time afterwards, to fully kick in, and none of them claim to offer full protection, so it’s possible to be infected even after both doses. A false positive test is also possible.

Another Massachusetts representative, Lori Trahan, reported testing positive for Covid-19 on Friday. She said she was asymptomatic and self-isolating, and plans to cast her votes by proxy, too. Last week, during a visit to Washington, she had tested negative, she said.

After repeatedly testing negative for COVID-19, I learned moments ago that I have tested positive for the virus. I am fortunate to be asymptomatic and have immediately begun to self-quarantine. Our team will continue working fully remote and remains a resource to #MA3 residents. pic.twitter.com/GyJGWrTKIV

— Congresswoman Lori Trahan (@RepLoriTrahan) January 28, 2021

Earlier this month, Norway voiced concern about the safety of the Pfizer vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after several reports of deaths suspected to be associated with the vaccine.

Pfizer vaccine ‘too risky’ for very old people, Norway warns

Norway has expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising their estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29.

Iran has also canceled the import of Pfizer vaccines after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei banned the purchase of coronavirus vaccines produced by the United States and Britain.

“I have already said it to government officials, and now announce it publicly. The import of American and British vaccines is prohibited,” the Leader said.

Iran cancels import of American Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines after Leader bans it

The Iranian Red Crescent Society announced the news in the wake of a national address by Ayatollah Khamenei.

“Had the Americans managed to produce a vaccine, they would not have faced such a mess today in their own country. In one day, some 4,000 people died from COVID-19 in the US,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated, adding, “I really don’t trust them. Sometimes they want to test the vaccine on other nations.”

Ayatollah Khamenei: Election fiasco, paralyzed economy show what 'big idol' US has turned to

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says it is weird that some still worship the US as their idol despite the country’s election fiasco, paralyzed economy, and human rights records.

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