Vaccinated Cape Tourist Felt 'Invincible' Before Getting COVID-19

PROVINCETOWN, MA — Travis Dagenais is fully vaccinated, and after months of taking coronavirus precautions, he was excited to let loose.

Dagenais, of Boston, and three of his friends spent their 4th of July weekend in Provincetown. They enjoyed sightseeing, a drag show and dancing and drinks at the A-House and Tea Dance at the Boatslip Beach Club. But what started as six days of vacationing turned into Dagenais becoming part of Provincetown's recent outbreak of "breakthrough" coronavirus cases.

Breakthrough cases happen when people who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 contract the virus anyway. Dagenais was among a handful of fully vaccinated Provincetown tourists and residents to test positive for the virus.

Dagenais said he started feeling symptoms when he returned to Boston on Tuesday, July 6. Symptoms included a sore throat, raspy voice and a dry cough.

"At the time we figured, we're in our mid-30s, we just did five nights in P-Town," Dagenais said. "This is how you feel after a week in Provincetown."

But by Friday, Dagenais' symptoms worsened. He had a high fever, nasal congestion and muscle aches. Dagenais took two at-home PCR tests, both of which came back positive for the coronavirus. He's been isolating at home ever since and is on the mend. And, fortunately, none of Dagenais' friends he was with tested positive for the virus.

"I'm so grateful for the genius and the magic that has gone behind creating the vaccines for us," Dagenais said. "My illness could have been much worse without the vaccine. That’s an objective fact."

Dagenais later learned through social media that others vacationing in Provincetown contracted COVID-19. He said it was both "disconcerting" and "strangely comforting" to know there's a group of people going through the same thing.

It also made Dagenais think twice before going to a bar or nightclub again for a while. He said he never imagined he'd be in the roughly 5 percent of fully vaccinated people who health experts say may still contract COVID-19.

"I did feel invincible with this vaccine, and that was how I chose to interpret the vaccine, despite also knowing it's not 100 percent of a defense," Dagenais said. "I had to experience COVID myself before I really understood what that risk means."

Monitoring the 'breakthrough' COVID-19 cases

Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse told the Provincetown Banner on Tuesday fewer than 10 Provincetown residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since last week. He said getting an exact number on how many visitors came down with breakthrough cases is harder because of at-home tests or tourists getting tested in their own towns.

Morse told the Provincetown Select Board on Monday the cases were expected, despite nearly all the town's full-time and part-time residents being fully vaccinated. He said the number of tourists flocking to Provincetown makes new cases an inevitability.

"Provincetown, like every other community in the state and in this country, around the world, are learning to live with the virus," Morse said. "I'm not recommending any change in policy at this time. If anything, in the last few days, we have discovered the vaccine is working."

Officials with the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment also reiterated that vaccines are still effective and highly encouraged.

"The vaccines are highly effective against primary infection, including the Delta variant," a Barnstable County spokesperson said in a statement. "The mildness of symptoms among these cases is proof that the vaccines are working."

County health officials are also conducting a mobile testing effort in the parking lot at the Veteran Memorial Community Center over the next few days. Testing is free and doesn't require an appointment. The center is at 2 Mayflower St. in Provincetown. Hours for mobile testing are:

• Thursday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Monday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.