KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — 14-year-old Eric Quinley had a little bit of congestion, a sore throat, and both doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Still, his mother suggested he get tested for the virus. They're glad he did.
"It was positive," Dr. Jennifer Quinley said. I didn't panic. I still knew that he had adequate protection with a vaccine from any serious disease or hospitalization."
Breakthrough cases are extremely rare. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, just 0.18% of fully vaccinated people in the state have tested positive. Breakthrough cases are extremely rare.TDH said nearly all of them weren’t severe.
Just a few days after vaccine eligibility expanded to teenagers like Eric and his sister Rachel, Jennifer took them to get vaccinated. She said it was a no-brainer.
"We're just doing our part to make everything normal again," Eric told 10News at the time. "It doesn't hurt."
Dr. Joe Childs, chief medical officer at East Tennessee Children's Hospital said families should take any unexpected symptoms seriously.
"[COVID-19] typically is not a lot of symptoms in kids, especially the younger you are," he said. If it's not the usual stuff, especially if they're running a temperature, I think they should be tested."
Eric's symptoms were mild, something his mom credits to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Never had a fever, never had a cough, never had a headache or body aches," Jennifer said. "Very minimal symptoms, which was the whole point of getting the vaccine is to prepare him so that he wouldn't have severe illness."
Their entire family has been quarantining for 10 days. All of them are vaccinated; Eric is the only one who has tested positive or exhibited any symptoms.
Jennifer Quinley hopes parents will take this as a cautionary tale to get tested for COVID-19, even if the symptoms aren't severe.
"Symptoms that kind of fly below the radar, which you think are minor, could actually be significant," she said. "They could actually increase the potential for an outbreak."