Pastor Max Lucado revealed that he contracted COVID last weekend.
The minister shared that he was planning to preach that day and travel abroad the next day when he discovered that he tested positive for coronavirus, The Christian Post reported.
"Groan. Covid found me. Tested positive yesterday. Was planning to preach today at Oak Hills Church and go with some guys on epic golf trip to Ireland tomorrow. Turns out it's me in a downstairs room with aches, stuffy head and quarantine," he posted on Facebook.
Moreover, the pastor stated that he was actually vaccinated.
"... Though miserable, the misery would have been worse with no vaccination. So doing my best to count blessings."
The renowned pastor indicated that despite his predicament, there are reasons for him to be thankful, including his "amazing wife," "good docs," staying at "home instead of a hotel," and a dog that "likes me."
He also wanted to make good use of his time and is asking for people to throw him some prayer requests so he can pray as "Our good Father can't catch Covid," and so, "I'll hang out with him."
Readers are urged to pray for pastor Max Lucado's healing and recovery.
Are the vaccines really effective?
The Times of Israel said that according to Hebrew University's latest study, the effectiveness of Pfizer vaccine in preventing serious illness has dropped to 80%, a 10% decrease before the emergence of the Delta variant, but is 90% effective in preventing deaths.
However, the data released by Israel's Health Ministry showed that the Pfizer shot is now only 39% effective in fighting against the coronavirus infection and 41% resistant from having symptomatic COVID.
The findings also showed that the immunity from the virus fades months after the vaccination, wherein people vaccinated in January only have 16% protection from COVID while those who took the shot in April have 75% immunity.
But the researchers noted that aside from time, the other factor, which is the early vaccination of the elderly and people with health conditions, should also be considered in the figures.
The Leumit Health Fund also published a report that supported the findings of the vaccine's waning effectiveness.
Dr. Yotam Shenhar, head of Special Tests Department at Leumit, uncovered that the level of antibodies resulting from the vaccine decreases by 40% monthly, thus explains the vaccination's effect over time.
Further, the organization's study disclosed that the individuals, regardless of age, who got vaccinated early were 1.95 times more likely to be infected. Age is a factor on the rate of infection, wherein early vaccinators ages 60 and up are twice likely to catch the virus while aged 40 to 59 are 2.1 times more likely to get infected. In addition, those under 39 years old are only 1.6 times more likely to test positive.
"We looked at tens of thousands of people tested in the month of June, alongside data on how long had passed since their second shot, and found that those vaccinated early were more likely to test positive," Shenhar told the media outlet.
He suggested that people over 70s should be given the third dose.
"Now we see vaccination effectiveness drops, so it seems we definitely need to think about a third vaccine. We have started already by giving the immunocompromised, but in my assessment we need to consider giving third shots to everyone over 70 or 80. We shouldn't wait long; we need to make a decision fast," the department head said.
The safety of vaccines is also currently being questioned following a revelation that thousands have died after getting the shot but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly tried to cover it up by deleting a huge number of fatalities.
