I had my Covid-19 vaccine – what can I do safely?

Let’s face it: the answer is no.

Try to think of a face mask as your new best friend, one that you will cherish and appreciate for a long, long time. Here are five reasons why.

1) It is not 100% protection. Even the best of the currently available vaccines only offer up to 95% protection if you are fully immunized. This means that the chance that you can catch the new coronavirus at any time is 5%.

2) Everyone is different. Some people will produce more robust immune responses on both rounds of vaccination against Covid-19 than others. This is one of the main reasons why experts insist that everyone receives the second ingestion of the vaccine within an important time frame.

“The main reason for the second dose is to make everyone react. If you only get one dose, you do not know where you stand,” Hotez said.

Remember, it can take two to three weeks after you get the second chance before your immunity starts completely.

3) A moving target. As is typical with viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is mutating around the world, creating variants that appear to be more contagious than those currently struggling with the US.

Experts already warn that antibodies from a previous case of Covid-19 will not protect against reinfection with a variant from South Africa.

“If it becomes predominant, the experience of our colleagues in South Africa indicates that even if you are infected with the original virus, there is a very high re-infection rate,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy. and infectious diseases, said Wolf Blitzer of CNN Monday. “It seems that the previous infection did not protect you from re-infection.”

There is also a possibility that the current vaccines will not fully protect against the new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is now being studied feverishly, so stay tuned.

This scenario may apply to Covid-19.

“We do not yet know if being vaccinated means that you are no longer a carrier of coronavirus. That is, people who have been fully vaccinated may still be able to spread Covid-19 to others,” said Dr. Leana Wen, CNN’s medical analyst, said. an emergency physician and visiting professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

5) Will immunity last? Researchers do not yet know how long the immunity that current vaccines provide, as it is, will last. There is a possibility that booster doses may be needed in the coming months or years. This is not uncommon – adults need tetanus and diphtheria boosters every ten years.

So until more is known about how long the protection lasts and against what variants – stay safe and protect others by wearing a mask.

When can I hang out with friends and family?

It depends on everyone’s vaccine status, experts say. If friends or other family members also received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, the risk is significantly reduced, especially if the visit goes outside.

“It’s probably pretty safe to see others who have also been vaccinated, after everyone has received both doses and waited a few weeks,” Wen said.

It would also be safe if the unvaccinated friends, family members or friends were quarantined for ten days before the outdoor meeting.

However, if the visit is indoors, ‘there is some risk’, ‘Wen said, especially with the current spread of more contagious variants and the less than 100% effectiveness of today’s vaccinations.

“The risk will be much lower than if you were not vaccinated, but the risk will still be there for you, and you may still be at risk for the unvaccinated members of your family, as you may be an asymptomatic carrier who to them, ‘said Wen.

“If you really want to spend time with the grandchildren indoors, the safest way to still do it is to put everyone in quarantine for at least ten days and reduce their risk during those ten days,” Wen said. “Seven days in quarantine and a negative test is also an option, but everyone must also do the quarantine – a negative test alone is not enough.”

And again, just because you were vaccinated does not diminish your responsibility. You should continue to wear a mask and practice social distance whenever you are with others.

“You would not want to participate in activities where you could possibly acquire the new coronavirus and then pass it on to others,” Wen said.

“This includes seeing other people who have been vaccinated but are not wearing a mask – based on what we now know, they may have the virus and transmit it to you, and you can pass it on to the people with whom you live, convey. A lot of warning is still a good idea. “

When can I eat in an indoor restaurant or go to a concert or sporting event?

Indoor restaurants are probably hotspots for the Covid-19 shipment. This is partly because no one wears a mask while eating, thus spreading their breathing drops while socializing.

So, even with a second vaccine, you still take the chance that you could be exposed to Covid-19 and become a silent distributor.

But wouldn’t the typical 6-foot spread between tables or stand partitions do the trick?

“I think the 6 feet indoors are not enough, ”said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, who studied Covid-19 transmission.

“You need to have good ventilation in that bar or restaurant,” said Marr, the co-author of an article on the airing of Covid-19, via droplets, aerosols.

However, even a HEPA filter will not make Marr’s environmental engineer feel comfortable eating in a restaurant. To protect the filter, the virus-laden air must pass through the air system and be filtered first before it reaches you, she said.

“HEPA filters reduce the amount of viruses in the background air, but most transmission occurs in these close contact scenarios where you are near someone who is infected and they spread a lot of viruses. The HEPA filter does not help with that,” she said. said.

“And since I can not wear a mask while eating, I avoid indoor restaurants until it’s over,” Marr said.

What about fun things to do, like concerts and sporting events?

“After being vaccinated, an outdoor sporting event or concert is probably safe if there is a good social distance between households and everyone is wearing masks,” Wen said. “Indoors, crowded gatherings are probably still the best thing to avoid, even if you have been vaccinated.”

Can I travel if I have been vaccinated?

And that goes for people who have already been vaccinated, Fauci, the White House medical adviser, added.

“Being vaccinated does not mean now that I have a free pass to travel,” Fauci said on CNN World City Hall. “Nor does it say that I have a free pass to set aside all the social health measures we talk about all the time.”

“I mean, if you absolutely have to travel and it’s essential, then of course you have to do it. But we do not want people to think because they have been vaccinated, then other public health recommendations just do not apply. not, “Fauci said.