Why We Should Continue to Take Precautions After Vaccination
By Elora Derbyshire
By Elora Derbyshire
Vaccination first began in the United States in December. As of April 26th, 2021, 28.9% of the population has been fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and, in Maryland, 31.9%. You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving your second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines or first and only dose of Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, which was temporarily paused but resumed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday, April 25th.
Once you are fully vaccinated, the CDC says it is safe to “visit inside a home or private setting without a mask with other fully vaccinated people of any age” or with “one household of unvaccinated people who are not at an increased risk from illness”. The travel guidelines have also been relaxed for fully vaccinated people. On Tuesday, April 27th, the CDC updated its guidance; fully vaccinated people now do not have to wear a mask outdoors, when with members of their household or a small group. You can read more about this here. However, it is still very important to wear a mask that fits you and in indoor and certain outdoor settings, social distance, avoid crowds and large gatherings, and wash your hands frequently, even after you are vaccinated. This is because the Pfizer vaccine is 94% effective and the Moderna vaccine is 95% effective, which still means that you could develop symptoms after exposure to COVID-19.
Scientists are also still unsure of whether you can spread the virus to others after vaccination -- in order to quickly grant them emergency-authorization, the FDA only required manufacturers to prove that the vaccines protected from symptoms, not that they prevented vaccinated people from asymptomatically spreading the virus to others. If you are able to spread the virus after vaccination, this is how it would work: When exposed to SARS-CoV-2, you would not develop symptoms, but your body may not immediately eliminate the virus, allowing it to replicate and shed when you cough, sneeze, talk, or breathe. There are ongoing studies, testing the vaccinated volunteers for the Pfizer and Moderna trials for antibodies, in order to get data to answer this crucial question. Other active research areas include testing the vaccines to determine whether they are safe and effective for children.
Although a few of the guidelines for fully vaccinated people have relaxed, We should continue to take the usual precautions until scientists and researchers have more data about the vaccines.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/12/956051995/why-you-should-still-wear-a-mask-and-avoid-crowds-after-getting-the-covid-19-vac
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/27/cdc-guidance-masks-outdoors/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness.html (Image)
Once you are fully vaccinated, the CDC says it is safe to “visit inside a home or private setting without a mask with other fully vaccinated people of any age” or with “one household of unvaccinated people who are not at an increased risk from illness”. The travel guidelines have also been relaxed for fully vaccinated people. On Tuesday, April 27th, the CDC updated its guidance; fully vaccinated people now do not have to wear a mask outdoors, when with members of their household or a small group. You can read more about this here. However, it is still very important to wear a mask that fits you and in indoor and certain outdoor settings, social distance, avoid crowds and large gatherings, and wash your hands frequently, even after you are vaccinated. This is because the Pfizer vaccine is 94% effective and the Moderna vaccine is 95% effective, which still means that you could develop symptoms after exposure to COVID-19.
Scientists are also still unsure of whether you can spread the virus to others after vaccination -- in order to quickly grant them emergency-authorization, the FDA only required manufacturers to prove that the vaccines protected from symptoms, not that they prevented vaccinated people from asymptomatically spreading the virus to others. If you are able to spread the virus after vaccination, this is how it would work: When exposed to SARS-CoV-2, you would not develop symptoms, but your body may not immediately eliminate the virus, allowing it to replicate and shed when you cough, sneeze, talk, or breathe. There are ongoing studies, testing the vaccinated volunteers for the Pfizer and Moderna trials for antibodies, in order to get data to answer this crucial question. Other active research areas include testing the vaccines to determine whether they are safe and effective for children.
Although a few of the guidelines for fully vaccinated people have relaxed, We should continue to take the usual precautions until scientists and researchers have more data about the vaccines.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/12/956051995/why-you-should-still-wear-a-mask-and-avoid-crowds-after-getting-the-covid-19-vac
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/27/cdc-guidance-masks-outdoors/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness.html (Image)