NY Yankees say 8 vaccinated members tested positive for Covid-19. Here's how that could happen

[babylonsister]

New York Yankees say 8 vaccinated members tested positive for Covid-19. Here's how that could happen
By Holly Yan, Homero De la Fuente and David Close, CNN
Updated 0023 GMT (0823 HKT) May 14, 2021


(CNN)Eight members of the New York Yankees have tested positive for coronavirus this week despite being inoculated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the baseball team said Thursday.

The eight infected Yankees include coaches, staff members and a player. Seven do not have symptoms, said Jason Zillo, the team's vice president of communications.

The Yankees said the eight infected members received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two weeks ago.

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 72% effective against Covid-19 among US trial participants and 85% effective against severe Covid-19. The two-dose vaccines used in the US, from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, are both about 95% effective.

more...

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/13/sport/yankees-test-positive-covid/index.html

[roamer65]

1. Two weeks is too short a window.

Their immune systems had not formed enough antibodies yet to fight it off completely.

[VarryOn]

2. It seems the vaccine worked if 7 of 8....

had no symptoms. I wonder what the eighth's symptoms were.

[VarryOn]

6. Great point...being vaccinated doesn't guarantee no infection...

But a successful outcome is more likely. Its amelioration of symptoms makes it worth getting. And the death side effect is nearly nil thus far.

I've spent more time researching this topic than should be necessary because my wife refuses to be vaccinated. She's not a nut. She's right on every important political issue, save for being staunchly antiunion (she's in management). She'll hardly take an Advil for a headache and refuses general anesthesia for a colonoscopy. She's just skeptical of medication, in general.

Just as I have topics I dont broach with Republican family and friends, the COVID vaccines are off-limits for us. After eight months of school with unmasked elementary students, she's been fine. Of course, I remind her my prayers have been effective and are the reason. Lol

[blogslug]

9. Are we sure about that last part?

The part where you say the vaccinated are "susceptible to long-term COVID"? Do we know enough about that yet?

[stopdiggin]

11. disagree with this explanation

" - the best it offers is a reduction of symptoms"

This is simply not what the rest of the medical community is saying. Their version is that the 'vaccines' offer substantial protection against infection and serious complications in (a small subset of) breakthroughs.

J&J has been know all along to offer a lesser degree of protection than the first dual shot delivery methods (Pfizer and Moderna). No clue why a wealthy (and well informed) sports organization would deliberately make that less efficient option their chosen strategy.

[genxlib]

14. Regarding the choosing of JJ

It is very likely the convenience of one and done as well as the lesser likelihood of symptoms. The availability of vaccines to that age group overlapped with their season so they ran a higher risk of missing playing time with multiple shots and worse side effects. I suspect if this happened in the off season, they would have gone with the other options since they would have had ample time to deal with the downsides

[tcslee2020]

7. Minor symptoms

This afternoon on the sports talk radio station in NYC ( WFAN ) the hosts had on Yankee manager Aaron Boone to discuss the situation. I forget which coach he said was the symptomatic person, but he said that person had been sick for 2 days and now feels back to normal. He said all of the players, coaches and other staff have been going through extra testing each day to monitor the situation.

I believe under the covid plan that MLB has with the teams there is an 85% threshold. If a team has their players and staff vacinated at a rate > 85% they can operate under relaxed covid rules. Players don't have to wear masks while sitting in the dugout, clubhouse rules are relaxed, etc. The Yankees were/are over that threshold, but I don't think they have said exactly what % they are.

[VarryOn]

10. It's good a few cases don't upend things...

This shows the Yankees (and maybe MLB) are being reasonable and thoughtful and reasonable in their reaction.

Organizations need to accept there will be some slight level of infections. Then, when they occur, have a plan. Make provision for the anxious and find pathways for those confident in moving forward.

[soothsayer]

12. Mild

[Princess Turandot]

3. Huh. The (asymptomatic) player is shortstop Gleyber Torres, who had tested positive last December..

Torres had tested positive in December but recovered. He'd subsequently tested negative, prior to this.

[Bleacher Creature]

5. Is it possible that they were all exposed to a variant?

That would explain a lot, and it would actually speak well of the effectiveness of the J&J vaccine.

[LisaL]

15. Not just possible but likely.

NT

[tcslee2020]

8. I would like more info on this

Since I live in NJ I follow the Yankees and Mets. I remember during spring training the people around the teams talking about vaccinating the players. I would have to think that most of the people on the Yankees that have been vaccinated had their doses back in March before the season started. So I would think that would be enough time for it to kick in and be at full effectiveness.

They keep saying breakthrough cases are rare, but this is 8 cases in a very small sample size. Between players, coaches, trainers, equipment managers that work closely together and travel with the team we are talking what, 50-60 people? That just doesn't seem to match up with what the doctors are saying about how rare these things should be.

Is it possible that people that have either already had the virus or been vaccinated need a different test? i.e. these are really just false positives?

And how unlucky is Torres. He gets the virus in December. He gets vaccinated, and now in May still tests positive for a 2nd case.

[soothsayer]

13. I know, the Torres part is really weird. How many times will he get it?

Well no one will get really sick and die, presumably, so that’s good.