New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat Tests Positive For COVID-19

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Bronx Congressman Adriano Espaillat said Thursday he's feeling fine after testing positive for coronavirus.

It comes after he's already received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and it's a reminder the vaccine is effective, but not perfect, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.

Hours after declaring his support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, Espaillat was quarantining because his regular COVID-19 test came back positive.

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Espaillat discussed his situation on Twitter, writing, "I received the second dose of the #COVID19vaccine last week and understand the [effects] take time. I have continued to be tested regularly, wear my mask and follow the recommended guidelines."

Dr. Dial Hewlett of the Westchester County Department of Health said the Centers for Disease Control has warned it can take weeks for the vaccine to fully kick in and added research shows neither approved vaccine is 100% effective. In fact, no vaccine is.

When asked if the public should be surprised that it has learned of a prominent person who's had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine and then tested positive for the virus, Hewlett said, "No, we should not. It tkes a while before the efficacy kicks in, after that second dose."

Added Dr. Adam Jarrett of Holy Name Medical Center: "When you give the vaccine to hundreds of thousands and millions of people, even if the protectiveness is 90 or 95%, you're gonna see some people who still get infected."

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Jarrett said Holy Name has seen two cases of people testing positive for COVID after receiving the first vaccine.

"No one is saying that vaccines are going to make COVD go away. What the experts are saying, what I'm saying, is that the vaccine is going to get us out of this pandemic," Jarrett said.

Congressman Espaillat said he is not experiencing any symptoms.

There is evidence vaccines help reduce symptoms for those who later test positive.

"They prevented serious disease in nearly all of the people who received the vaccine," Hewlett said.

Espaillat is urging people to get vaccinated and to understand that they'll still have to take precautions, including masks and social distancing, to protect themselves and others.

Espaillat is the fourth Democrat to test positive in the last week after being locked down during the attack at the Capitol.

CBS2's Tony Aiello contributed to this report

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