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Argentine president, who received vaccine in January, tests positive for COVID-19

Fernandez said he is awaiting a confirmation of the PCR test result

FILES-ARGENTINA-UK-FALKLANDS-WAR-ANNIVERSARY Alberto Fernandez | AFP

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez says he had an initial positive test for COVID-19, despite having been vaccinated in January.

Fernandez sent a tweet late Friday saying took a quick antigen test for the virus after feeling a headache and experiencing a fever of 37.3 Celsius (99.1 Fahrenheit).

He said he otherwise has light symptoms, is isolating and is “physically well".

He said he is awaiting a confirmation of the result using a more rigorous PCR test.

The president received a dose of the Sputnik V vaccine on January 21 and a second dose a few days later.

The Russian Gamaleya Institute that produced the vaccine tweeted that it wished the president a quick recovery, and said the vaccine has a 91.6% rate of effectiveness against infection and 100% against critical cases.

“If the infection is confirmed and occurred, the vaccination assures a rapid recovery without severe symptoms,” it said.

Argentina recently tightened border restrictions following an upsurge in cases. The nation of some 45 million people has recorded nearly 2.4 million infections, with 56,000 deaths. It has administered more than 4 million doses of vaccine against the disease. 

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