What is safe to do after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? Experts weigh in.

If you just got the coronavirus vaccine and your mind is buzzing, thinking about all the things you can possibly do now that you have some protection against COVID-19 is definitely understandable.

It has been an incredibly difficult year, and we have given up a lot. We have not yet been able to go out safely with friends and family. We canceled weddings and parties. Travel plans were postponed, and birthdays and holidays were extraordinarily quiet. Of course, the sting in the arm is going to arouse aroused excitement about the fact that you can enjoy all the things you are missing.

What can you do now? Well, it’s complicated. IIn general, evaluating how safe an activity will be after it has been vaccinated is not so clipped and dried. For those who have been vaccinated, very little has changed.

Experts stress that it is a bit early to say that you can resume a pre-pandemic lifestyle, especially since so many other people have still not been vaccinated. Herd immunity, when about 70% or more of the population is immune to the disease, is the main target for ‘normality’.

The shots are very effective against the virus leading to hospitalization and death, which is excellent, but it’s not the only thing to consider right now. Promance research does suggest that the vaccines may reduce transmission, but more evidence needs to be gathered.

It all means that there is no activity completely currently risk free. With the right precautions, however, some of your favorite activities can be a bit safer, according to experts. But there are other important factors to keep in mind as we navigate the rest of the pandemic.

Before assessing the safety of different activities after vaccination, it is worth noting a few important caveats.

One of them, you want to look at the transfer of the community. If business in your area is very high, certain activities (such as eating indoors) will be much more risky compared to an area with minimal COVID-19 activities.

Second, you still need to evaluate your personal risk. We must all continue to wear masks and maintain physical distance. If you have underlying health conditions that make you more vulnerable to COVID-19, or if you live with someone who does, it is essential to continue with the proven safety precautions. Keep in mind that approx. 1 out of 20 people will not be protected even after you have been vaccinated.

Finally, emerging testimony has shown that even mild cases can lead to devastating long-distance symptoms that last for months, possibly years. This applies to people who are otherwise healthy and even include people who have had a total asymptomatic infection. Although the shot will protect most people from serious illnesses, there are many unanswered questions about what is in store for people who get a mild to moderate case of COVID-19 after being vaccinated.

It is probably a low risk to hang out with other people who have been vaccinated and just look at the case alone.

‘If you meet people who you think have been vaccinated and have two doses, you probably do not need to wear a mask, because even if for some reason you were an asymptomatic carrier and give it to you, the probability of getting really sick is going to be low, ”he said Krysia Lindan, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

However, it gets complicated when you include other people. It is important to consider the health of all involved Chris Thompson, an immunologist and associate professor of biology at Loyola University Maryland’s Department of Biology.

For example, if everyone is really healthy, it may be less risky, but if someone ‘has underlying complications, why risk it?’ Thompson said.

The same goes for time indoors with friends or family members who has not yet been vaccinated. It is definitely riskier. If you are vaccinated, you have a smaller chance of contracting the infection, but you still run the risk of passing it on to others unknowingly.

“You take a little risk. It’s less than before, but I would not be completely cavalier about it, “Lindan said.

Although some small studies Thompson said the vaccines reduce transmission. We really do not know if you can still distribute it.

Most experts in infectious diseases agree that indoor meals are still risky, as the coronavirus is a disease of the air (meaning it can hang in the air for hours and be inhaled). Although the risk of becoming ill decreases significantly after vaccination, there is still a world in which you can go and eat COVID-19.

In general, outdoor meals are much safer than eating indoors. (When we say outside, we mean completely outside – not a closed outer structure.) To be inside, without a mask and in the vicinity of others who talk and laughing, presents the opportunity for the spread of the virus.

If you prefer to eat indoors after receiving the vaccine, wear a mask if you are not actively eating and avoid pressure spots, Lindan said. If you are older and at risk of severe COVID-19 disease, it is probably not a good idea to take off your mask and start eating indoors with strangers who may or may not be vaccinated.

Thompson said it is wise to meet the same standards for unvaccinated people. The risk of getting sick will be lower, but if you have to flywear a good mask and maybe even a face shield. “None of that really changes,” Thompson said.

We do not know how long immunity lasts after vaccination, and remember, not everyone who is vaccinated will develop immunity. Airports and public toilets are considered more dangerous than aircraft with large air filtration.

Public transport also carries the risk of being exposed to aerosolized virus. The risk decreases after vaccination, especially for healthy people, but you can still spread the virus in these confined spaces. It is unclear how often buses, metros and shares are cleaned, and it transportation services generally have poor ventilation, so it is a must for masks whether you are vaccinated or not.

Lindan said one can feel much safer after being vaccinated to have their hair cut, assuming the staff and other customers also wear masks. Salonne is considered a high-risk environment, but combined with a good face mask, the vaccine does help reduce your risk (but, again, the risk is not zero).

Practice at a gymnasium still makes pathologists uncomfortable because there have been a number of outbreaks tracked down to fitness studios.

“It’s a place where people breathe and breathe, possibly viruses, and you would do that too,” says Lindan, who strongly suggests wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others when you go to the gym.

The risk here is primarily for the dentist, not for the patient, Lindan explained. If the dentist wears the right protective equipment and there is good ventilation, the risk of transmission is low. “It’s probably good to have your teeth cleaned,” Lindan said.

The same usually applies to other doctor appointments. Do not delay important screenings (some experts are concerned that the pandemic could lead to more undetected health problems). Here is a quick guide on what to do with certain visits to your doctor.

The hard truth is that scientists now do not yet know exactly how safe any of these activities will be for people who have been vaccinated. That is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls on people to do so continue to wear masks until herd immunity is established and cases begin to decline dramatically.

Getting the vaccine means you have made a contribution to slowing down the spread of COVID-19, but it does not give you a free pass netnou. If we all get the chance when it’s our turn and hold on to our masks a little longer, we can knock out COVID-19 relatively quickly.

Being vaccinated is ‘a big step forward to go beyond that,’ ‘Thompson said,’ but we go beyond it as a community, not as individuals. ‘

Experts are still learning about COVID-19. The information in this story is what was known or was available at the time of publication, but guidance may change as scientists discover more about the virus. Consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most up-to-date recommendations.