Stacey Sager contracts COVID between vaccine doses

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Eyewitness News Reporter Stacey Sager, our friend and colleague, is home, self-isolating as she fights COVID.

"The back pain was awful, and the night sweats," Sager said.

Her kids and husband are also self-isolating. They even celebrated Passover over Zoom. She's shared her experience on social media.

"I tested positive for COVID-19 and I wanted to let you know, after my first dose of my vaccine," she said in a Facebook video.

She got sick with COVID between doses. The first dose can provide 80% protection after two weeks, but people can still get COVID.

"It was an elephant sitting on my chest," Bernie Sun said.

Sun has asthma and he got COVID a short time after his first dose, but both he and Stacey agree that thanks to the vaccine they had milder cases.

"If I didn't have that first dose I'd be in the hospital on a breathing machine," he said.

Most of Bernie's symptoms have subsided and he's out of quarantine. He got his second dose as scheduled. But, Sager had to delay hers and she's not alone.

"We know life happens, we see that happens," said Dr. Waleed Javaid, Mount Sinai Hospital Downtown.

Dr. Javaid says delaying the second dose is fine.

"We haven't seen a single document from the CDC, Pfizer, Moderna that it's too late to get the second dose," Dr. Javaid said.

He says patients should contact the organization that gave them the first dose, explain the situation, and book a new second dose appointment.

"It will stop us from dying and from becoming seriously ill, it just may not stop us from getting infected," Sager said.

Sager is looking forward to getting her next dose on April 5.

Nearly 25,000 New York City public school students have opted back into in-person since the period opened two days ago.

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