Before or after vaccination?
![[YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/06/22/ce22df77-dd96-4ecc-be42-0ad7587ef63f.jpg)
[YONHAP]
The author is a political and international team reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo.
On June 11, a 36-year-old man got a Janssen vaccine. In the evening he had a low-grade fever. The next day, the fever got worse. His temperature went down after he took Tylenol, but after a while, it went up again. Two days after the vaccination, his fever was 38.9 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). He didn’t have any other symptom except for a bit of acheing.
He thought it was a typical response after vaccination. He watched his condition as he was told to see a doctor if the fever would not go down with medicine or go on for a certain period.
As the fever didn’t go away after three days, he went back to where he got the vaccine. The doctor told him to take Tylenol and watch the symptoms for another day. He took a vaccine holiday and took fever reducers, but his temperature was above 38 degrees Celsius five days after vaccination.
He thought something was wrong and went to the emergency room. The hospital conducted a Covid test since other tests could be given only for patients with negative results. He tested positive. He thought he was having side effects from the vaccine, but he tested positive.
He claimed to have no health problems before the vaccination or contact with anyone with Covid-19. His family, coworkers and people around him were tested, and all had negative results. No one has contracted Covid-19 from him. It is unclear whether an asymptomatic patient experienced symptoms after the vaccination or symptoms developed as he contracted the virus after vaccination.
Some argued that he may have received a positive result because of the vaccination, but there is no way to confirm the claim.
When it comes to coronavirus or the vaccines that have been developed over the past year, no doctor, scientist, nurse or government official can honestly say they are real experts.
A Covid test before vaccination is not a requirement. As it is urgent to increase the vaccination rate, those without symptoms cannot be forced to take the test before vaccination. Therefore, even if you got a vaccine, you cannot ignore the possibility that you already have the virus.
You also need to keep in mind that anyone can have side effects. Various possibilities need to be open for a prompt and correct medical response.
Korea’s first-dose vaccination rate is 29.2 percent as of June 20. I hope everyone can safely get vaccinated and get over the pandemic.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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