Argentina President contracts COVID-19 despite being vaccinated by Russian vaccine

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez, who has been vaccinated against COVID-19, announced late Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. On Saturday he told Radio 750 that he has “no idea how I got infected” and would have been in very bad shape if not for the vaccine.

“I am someone who takes very good care of myself. If it were not for the vaccine, I would be having a very bad time,” the Argentine leader said.

Fernandez was inoculated with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and had his second shot on February 11, sources in the presidency told AFP.

“At the end of today, after presenting a fever of 37.3 (99 Fahrenheit) and a slight headache, I performed an antigen test, which was positive,” he had earlier tweeted.

A PCR test later confirmed the diagnosis.

The president, who turned 62 on Friday, was in isolation as a precaution but said he was “physically well.”

“Although I would have liked to end my birthday without this news, I am also in good spirits,” he said.

Argentina is facing a second wave of the coronavirus with a sustained rise in cases.

The South American country of 45 million inhabitants has recorded more than 2.3 million infections and over 56,000 deaths from COVID-19.

More than 4.1 million people there had been vaccinated as of Saturday.