PHOENIX — After a weekend of celebration, Suns fans were hit with the hard news: All-Pro Point Guard Chris Paul is out indefinitely as part of the NBA Health and Safety Protocols.
Reports that have been unconfirmed by the Suns say the All-Star tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated back in February.
Despite a return to normal, Arizona still sees hundreds of new COVID cases a day and a handful of deaths because of the deadly virus.
“In Arizona, there have only been about 2,000 breakthrough cases among 3 million people who are fully vaccinated. So, overall it’s a rare occurrence.” Dr. Natasha Bhuyan said.
Dr. Bhuyan is not affiliated with the Suns or Chris Paul but spoke to us about vaccines and COVID.
The doctor said while the vaccine is highly effective, it is not 100% effective. Bhuyan put the efficacy rate at 95%, much higher than the typical flu vaccine, but still not perfect.
“That being said it can still happen,” Bhuyan said.
The impact of the vaccine though could come with the recovery. It is extremely rare for vaccinated people to experience severe symptoms of the disease.
The big question when may paul be cleared to play?
“So, it will really come down to what protocol the NBA decides to follow,” Bhuyan said.
The doctor saw two paths back to the court under the league’s protocol. First path follows CDC guidelines.
The CDC recommends isolating for 10 days after a positive test, which would have paul miss at least game 1 in the conference finals.
However, the NBA also allows players to get back with two negative COVID tests in a 48-hour window (the two tests must be spaced at least 24 hours apart).
“Now that people who are fully vaccinated, it's very likely that the PCR Test becomes negative before the 10 day isolation period is over,” Bhuyan said.
This is where Bhuyan says getting vaccinated helps. Before vaccinations, people would often test positive for weeks after they felt no symptoms. However, those who are vaccinated likely have less of the virus (known as a lower viral load) and can fight it off more quickly. Making it more likely to have a negative test.
Bhuyan does recommend everyday people follow the CDC guidelines. However, time and test will see how long Paul may be out after a potential positive COVID test.
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