More than 95,000 residents across the Rio Grande Valley have received at least one round of the COVID-19 vaccine, but health experts say that doesn't mean they are safe from testing positive for the virus.

Chief Medical Officer of DHR Health Dr. Robert Martinez says it is possible for people to contract COVID-19 in between their first and second dose of the vaccine if they're not careful or if exposed to the virus before receiving the shot.

"We've seen a lot of it within the first time we gave any vaccine, within the first batch, Martinez said. "I got quite a few people that tested positive for the disease. They were essentially saying-- some of them blaming it on the vaccine and we said, 'No no no no,' that's not what it is."

Martinez said it's important to remember that there is an incubation period of the disease that sometimes takes up to 14 days. 

Medical professionals know that right now the maximal protection against the coronavirus happens about seven to eight days after being vaccinated, according to Martinez. He says that could change in the near future as health experts learn more about the virus and the vaccine. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.