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Case Reports
. 2022 Jun;15(6):628-630.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2022.04.011. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Active viral shedding in a vaccinated hospitalized patient infected with the delta variant (B.1.617.2) of SARS-CoV-2 and challenges of de-isolation

Abeer N Alshukairi  1 , Awad Al-Omari  2 , Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq  3 , Sherif A El-Kafrawy  4 , Mai M El-Daly  4 , Ahmed M Hassan  5 , Arwa A Faizo  4 , Thamir A Alandijany  4 , Ashraf Dada  6 , Mohammed F Saeedi  7 , Fatma S Alhamlan  8 , Mohammad K Al Hroub  9 , Ismael Qushmaq  7 , Esam I Azhar  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Active viral shedding in a vaccinated hospitalized patient infected with the delta variant (B.1.617.2) of SARS-CoV-2 and challenges of de-isolation

Abeer N Alshukairi et al. J Infect Public Health. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

In the era of SARS-CoV-2 variants and COVID-19 vaccination, the duration of infectious viral shedding and isolation in post vaccine breakthrough infections is challenging and depends on disease severity. The current study described a case of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant pneumonia requiring hospitalization. The patient received two doses of BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines, and he had positive SARS-CoV-2 viral cultures 12 days post symptom onset. The time between the second dose of vaccine and the breakthrough infection was 6 months. While immunosuppression is a known risk factor for prolonged infectious viral shedding, age and time between vaccination and breakthrough infection are important risk factors that warrant further studies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Delta variant; Vaccine; Viral shedding.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest None.

References

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Publication types

Supplementary concepts