More than 27 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will have to wait for guidance from federal health officials for what they should and should not do.
The Biden government said today that it is committed to getting the lead right and meeting emerging science, but the delays add to the uncertainty surrounding the end of the pandemic as the country’s virus fatigue grows.
“These are complex issues and science is evolving rapidly,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said today. “We are taking care and taking time to get it right, and we will announce this guidance soon.”
Such guidelines will address a flood of questions coming in from people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19: should I still wear a mask? Can I go to a bar now? Can I finally see my grandchildren?
The need has been slowly increasing since January, when the first Americans began completing the two-dose range of COVID-19 vaccines then available. According to Andy Slavitt, a senior administration adviser on the pandemic, more than half of people aged 65 and older received at least one shot.
In Washington state, Raul Espinoza Gomez has 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren and an appointment Saturday for his second dose of coronavirus vaccine.
By Easter, the 77-year-old’s immune system is ready to protect him from the virus. But how the family celebrates will depend on government advice, says Melissa Espinoza, 47, of Carnation, Washington, who plans to let her father-in-law drive Gomez to get his second chance.
“We did not get together for Christmas as a big family,” she said. “We are going according to what the state and federal guidelines recommend. We have harmed family members through COVID. We know the risks are serious. ”
Concerned about the persistently high number of cases and deaths, the Biden government has condemned the efforts to ease the states’ virus restrictions and called for more patience with the public for a few months.
The warning drew critics, pointing to the government’s own warnings that “fatigue is gaining” as proof that they need to be more optimistic about the way forward to ensure the co-operation of those yet to be vaccinated.
“I think it’s going to be too descriptive and conservative and that’s the wrong message,” former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Wednesday about the upcoming CDC lead. “If we continue to be very descriptive and do not give people a realistic vision of what a better future will look like, they will ignore the public health guidelines.”
Dr Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Division of Health Policy and Public Health, urged the CDC to be clearer about when and how it plans to draw up guidelines for vaccines.
“The decision to follow science also makes the decision that you have to make a decision, which is really difficult when science is not right,” he told AP. “They drink from a fiery science, and sometimes it gets confusing.”
More than 54 million Americans received at least one dose of vaccine, and just over half – nearly 28 million – received the recommended doses. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot soon will add another few million Americans with questions about what new freedoms they can safely enjoy.
“I hope to see my great-grandchildren more,” said Rolando Solar, 92, who received his second dose in Miami on Wednesday. “But I know things will not get normal, and for an old man like me, it’s as good as it gets.”
Tami Katz-Freiman, 65, of Miami, received her second dose three weeks ago and plans to see the Miami Film Festival virtually Sunday at the home of unvaccinated friends. Everyone wears masks.
“We do not need to discuss it with each other, because it is very clear to me that if there is any doubt and you do not have a CDC rule, you better be on the safe side and take care of yourself,” said Katz. -Freiman said.
Three weeks ago, the CDC announced that people who have been fully vaccinated do not have to go into quarantine if they have contact with someone with a confirmed infection (for 90 days after the final survey). But the agency said nothing further, says Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of public health at George Washington University.
“This (quarantine guidelines) seems to me to imply that your chances of contracting COVID-19 and transporting others are pretty low,” said Wen, who previously ran the Baltimore Department of Health.
“(But) we have to concentrate on what’s most important to people’s lives, and my patients do not come in and ask me, ‘If I get vaccinated, should I be quarantined if I am exposed?’ ‘ prosecute.
“I would say the most common question I get is ‘Can I visit my grandchildren?'” Wen said.
Experts say it is understandable that the CDC was cautious when there are still many scientific questions, including how long the immune-induced immunity lasts, and whether vaccinated people can still transmit the virus to others. The answers are important if you are advising someone what kind of risk they have in different institutions, and how much it poses to others.
‘The vaccines at their best in the clinical trials were 95% effective, I did not say 100%. And that’s why we usually have to wear masks, ”said Dr William Schaffner, an expert in infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.
But CDC needs to come up with something more for vaccinated people than sticking with the same old mask, social leadership, he added.
‘People are so eager to do something and want to get a tangible benefit from the vaccines. Americans are impatient. They want to get on with it, “said Schaffner.
Indeed, “there is a real cost involved in postponing this guidance” as people ask their own doctors for advice, or just make their own assumptions and decisions, Wen said.
Waiting too long can reduce the agency’s relevance to these kinds of issues, says Wen, who believes that CDC should have had some sort of guidance for vaccinations as early as January.
It is clear that vaccinated people had to be encouraged to do cancer examinations, dental care or other medical appointments. CDC officials could also have said that it is good for small groups of people who are fully vaccinated – for example two or three couples – to come together for a meal or another small gathering, she said.
Regarding small gatherings among people who have been fully vaccinated, “the relative risk is so low that you do not have to wear a mask, that you can have a good social gathering in the house”, said dr. Anthony Fauci, the leader of the government, said infectious diseases doctor during a recent briefing in the White House.
Some experts have discussed the possibility that movie theaters or cruise ships or certain other businesses could open up for vaccinations and ask for proof of vaccination status. The Israeli government has begun issuing a “green pass” vaccination certificate to anyone who has received two doses of COVID vaccine through an accredited vaccination service.
“I do not know if we will tolerate the federal government in this country some kind of pass, as they did in Israel,” Wen said. But businesses may want such passes, and that would be an incentive that could help the overall vaccination rate, Wen said.
The only incentive Espinoza’s family needed for vaccination was to see her and her husband in hospital this winter with COVID-19. She still uses oxygen at home.
Vaccination of family elders means a step closer to returning to traditions they love: Church on Palm Sunday and a week later an Easter egg hunt for the kids and a meal with slow-cooked barbecue, a Mexican meat dish.
“I hope that people will stay at home and stay as safe as possible until we can all be vaccinated and eradicate this disease,” Espinoza said.