Reba McEntire reveals she and boyfriend caught COVID-19 despite being vaccinated

Country star Reba McEntire, who previously said she had contacted COVID-19, is now saying she didn't.

“I did say that I had COVID, but I got tested, my antibodies," she told Nancy O'Dell Monday on "Talk Shop Live."

"It came up that I had not had COVID. I had my antibodies from my vaccine. So, I had all the symptoms. I did get tested, you know the test that I had. And it said that I had it, but then the nurse that came and tested me for my antibodies said that I probably had the RSV virus," she added, referring to respiratory syncytial virus, a condition that is similar to the flu.

McEntire had pleaded with her fans to get the COVID-19 shot after she said she caught the coronavirus, despite being vaccinated. In a recent TikTok live, the singer revealed that she and boyfriend Rex Linn both tested positive for COVID-19.

"It's not fun to get this. I did get it," the 66-year-old country star said of the coronavirus.

"Rex and I got it and it's not fun. You don't feel good," McEntire continued. "We were both vaccinated and we still got it, so stay safe, stay home, and be protected the best you can."

"I just want to say one thing: this has been a hard year and it's getting rougher again," she added. "You guys, please stay safe. Wear your mask. Do what you have to do. Stay home."

Experts say that contracting COVID-19 after being vaccinated is not a sign that vaccines do not work, rather an expected outcome based on both efficacy and rate of vaccinations.

"Ninety-five percent efficacy is not 100% efficacy," Andrew Heinrich, a lecturer at the Yale School Of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut, told TODAY Health. "Vaccines matter most when a significant portion of the population gets them. It's a bit of a logarithmic scale and (as more people get vaccinated), the benefits start to mount immensely."

In short, "breakthrough cases" are expected, but an NBC News survey of health officials nationwide found that those who experience more serious disease despite being fully vaccinated tend to be older than 65, have a compromised immune system or other health conditions.

McEntire also addressed how the ongoing pandemic will impact her upcoming live shows.

"I have no idea what plans for next year are. You know, the COVID thing has really hit hard and spikes are going everywhere right now ... and it's all over the country — this new variant," she said. "We have plans right now to go back on tour in January, February and March. We have plans with being with Brooks & Dunn at Caesars in December — the first two weeks, almost three weeks of December — but we don't know if that's going to go."

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