On Thursday, Warriors shooting guard Damion Lee told reporters he tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago despite being fully vaccinated. Lee said he got his vaccine by the middle or end of March, and is an extremely rare “breakthrough” case of a positive test result from a fully vaccinated person.
“Right now, there’s no timeline in the immediate future for me coming back and playing,” Lee said. “We still have protocols and hurdles that I have to clear from the medical side. And then it’s just a matter of getting back in basketball shape.”
As of April 26, the Centers for Disease Control reported 9,245 breakthrough infections out of over 95 million vaccinated people—or 0.0097% of people.
Lee told reporters he experienced a variety of symptoms, including headache, chills, sneezing, congestion, soreness and body aches, adding that it felt, “like I was hit by a car, hit by two cars at once…every step I took, it hurt.”
Lee also described experiencing brain fog, difficulty breathing and a loss of appetite. He said he had difficulty sustaining a conversation, and like, “there was a weight on [his] chest for a couple days.”
An undrafted player out of Louisville in 2016, Lee broke through with the Hawks during the 2017-18 season and has spent the last three years with the Warriors. He signed a multi-year contract with the team in January of last year.
In 57 games this season, Lee is averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 39.7% on three-point attempts. He hasn’t appeared in a game since April 19.
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