Kevin Brady, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Wednesday he had tested positive for the COVID-19 shortly before he was due to receive the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the Pfizer-BioNTech duo.
The vaccine’s regimen is two doses per patient 21 days apart, reports Sputnik.
“Tonite the Office of House Physician informed me that I’ve tested positive for COVID-19 & am quarantined.
“As recommended, I received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine Dec. 18 & also recently tested negative for Covid on New Years Day,” the congressman said on Twitter.
There are currently two coronavirus vaccines with the emergency use authorisation in the United States — Pfizer’s and the one developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna, whose dosing regimen is also two full shots one month apart.
On Sunday, Moncef Slaoui, the lead scientist in the United States’ COVID-19 response task force, said the government pondered halving the doses for some people in a bid to speed up the vaccination process.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended against reducing the dosing.