Can I test positive for Covid after getting the vaccine?
CORONAVIRUS vaccines are being rolled out at breakneck speed across the country and offer the best protection once you've had two doses. But some people have caught the bug after being inoculated. Credit: PA  Over the last seven months vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna have been rolled out - with a jab from Johnson & Johnson now also having been approved for use. So far in the UK over 44.5 million Brits have had a first dose, with 32.7 million now having had a second. No vaccine is 100 per cent effective and the Covid jabs are no different. It takes up to two weeks for the vaccines to kick in, so during that period of time you are still vulnerable to infection. If you test positive for Covid after your vaccine it's likely that you had contracted it before you were given your jab. You cannot catch the virus from the vaccine, so it's likely you were already carrying the bug on inoculation. AFTER ONE JAB  The Delta variant spreading across the UK has meant that some jabs are less effective than before. Public Health England states that (PHE) said that one dose of Pfizer offers 36 per cent protection against symptomatic disease from Delta, with the AstraZeneca jab offering 30 per cent. The Alpha (Kent) variant had previously been the dominant strain and the Pfizer and Oxford jab offers around 50 per cent protection after the first dose. Everyone over the age of 18 is now able to get their Covid jab. 3  AFTER TWO JABS  Having two doses of a vaccine gives you the best chance of protection from Covid-19. A Scottish study found that 79 per cent protection from hospitalisation is offered with two doses of Pfizer, and 60 per cent with Oxford AstraZeneca. In most cases, Covid will become less severe after two doses. The BBC's Andrew Marr recently revealed he had caught Covid after having two jabs. Even if you have had two jabs, you should continue to follow social distancing measures and remember "hands, face, space". The three most common coronavirus symptoms are a new persistent cough, a loss or taste or smell and a high temperature. If you have any of these symptoms you need to isolate and get a test. Around a third of people who have coronavirus don't show symptoms and lateral flow tests are available to tell you quickly if you have been infected. 3  Experts recently found that two Pfizer and Moderna jabs could give lifetime protection against Covid. Experts have said that while the virus has been evolving into different variants, such as the Delta strain sweeping the UK, our immune systems have also been changing. The new data on the Pfizer and Moderna jabs comes after an Oxford expert revealed booster jabs may not be needed as two jabs are "effective enough". Researchers at Washington University said jabs made by Pfizer and Moderna can set off an immune reaction in the body that could help protect you from the virus for years to come.