Nurse tests positive after second jab cancelled
AN A&E nurse tested positive for coronavirus after his second vaccine appointment was cancelled.
David Longden, 43, was one of the first people to get a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on December 8, last year. Mr Longden, pictured, who works at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, South Wales, tested positive on January 8, three days after he was supposed to receive the second dose.
He has since been forced to self-isolate. The second appointment was cancelled after a change in guidance on the waiting time between doses, to allow more people to receive the vaccine.
Pfizer’s vaccine requires two doses for the individual and at the time it was first rolled out, they were to be taken 21 days apart.
Mr Longden said: ‘The Government needs to protect their frontline NHS staff – to not do so is just short-sighted. I’ve now been taken out of action for several days while the emergency department is slammed with patients. Bridgend is one of the areas of Wales with the highest rates of coronavirus.
‘I’m also running the risk of exposing my partner to the virus. He’s diabetic and has lots of other health issues. So to be given that second dose would have given me peace of mind as well as him.’
Mr Longden has been self-isolating in a log cabin at his home in Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, away from his partner Andrew Price.
Staff absences are at a record high within the Welsh NHS, due to the number of positive cases and those forced to self-isolate.