14 people in Estonia have fallen ill with coronavirus after vaccination

TALLINN - Altogether 14 people, or 0.07 percent of the total number of those vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine, have been registered in Estonia who developed symptoms of COVID-19 or whose PCR test returned a positive result on up to the 15th day from receiving the first dose of the vaccine, Postimees reported. 

The Health Board said that these cases cannot be explained with inefficiency of the vaccine.

Irina Filippova, chief specialist at the infectious disease monitoring and epidemic control department at the Health Board, said there was nothing surprising about infection with the virus being detected in some vaccinated people on the day of vaccination or on subsequent days. 

The formation of antibodies takes about two weeks both in those who have fallen ill with the disease as well as after vaccination, she said. 

"Since the spread of the virus in Estonia is extensive, it can be guessed that also vaccinated people come into contact with the virus and become infected. Also, a person may get infected immediately before vaccination," Filippova said. "To get sufficient protection, vaccination with two doses of the vaccine is necessary," she added.

Deemed as absence of effect with the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is a situation where a person  falls ill seven days after the second dose is administered. The effectiveness of the Comirnaty vaccine has been proven only in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 and the effectiveness rate is 95 percent, which is a very high indicator for a vaccine.