One shot, two shots...The big question is, "what’s next?" Are you free to go about life as you did before the pandemic?
While your risk of getting the COVID-19 virus is lowered after the vaccine, it is still a possibility. According to the Mayo Clinic there are precautions you need to take:
Wearing a face mask: The currently available vaccines still don’t offer 100% protection, with the Pfizer vaccine being 95% effective and the Moderna vaccines at 94.1%.
Visiting with friends and family: If both parties are vaccinated your risk is greatly reduced especially if visiting outdoors. There is still an increased risk with visits being indoors, to decrease this risk wear masks, keep 6 feet of distance, and meet in well ventilated space.
Indoor Restaurant: Indoor restaurants can be seen as hotspots for Covid-19 transmission, even with the second vaccine you could still be exposed to Covid-19 and become a silent spreader.
Outdoor sporting events or concerts: These fun events may be possible once vaccinated, as long as there is proper social distancing between households and everyone is wearing masks.
Travel: Getting vaccinated is not a free pass to travel. If travel is essential then that needs to be done while following CDC guidelines to protect yourself and others.
While this might not be a "free and clear," according to the CDC, getting your COVID-19 vaccines has its benefits. Here are a few:
The vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19: All vaccines are shown to be highly effective, and based on the knowledge we have now from clinical trials the vaccines may help you from getting seriously ill from COVID-19.
The vaccination is a safer way to help build protection: Getting COVID-19 may offer natural protection, however the length of this protection is unknown. The vaccine will help protect you by creating an antibody response without you having to experience sickness.
The vaccination will be an important tool to help stop this pandemic: Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if needed. Stopping this pandemic will take all the tools we have available, the vaccine along with current CDC guidelines will help reduce the spread in communities.