What can I do safely after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

Approximately one year of a pandemic due to the dizzying number of deaths worldwide 2.3 million— Approximately 500,000 in the United States alone — Hope arrived in the form of multiple vaccines created in record time with remarkable success in preventing COVID-19.

“All vaccines to date have a very high level of protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death,” he said. William Moss, Secretary-General of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health School. It is the most important success story of the COVID-19 vaccine, he says, and helps control this brutal pandemic.

Many are wondering because the number of people receiving vaccinations is increasing day by day. Why have vaccines made previously dangerous activities safer, such as meeting friends indoors or going shopping without a mask? This is what experts say about how to calculate the risk of some common activities after being vaccinated.

Two mRNA vaccines currently approved for use in the United States, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, are given twice at 3- or 4-week intervals. It takes 1-2 weeks to achieve the maximum level of protection from the second shot. COVID-19..In clinical trials, each of these vaccines has a protective effect of about 95% Case of COVID-19..

At this time, it is unclear how long the immunity will last after a person has been completely vaccinated, and only time will reveal the answer. The COVID-19 vaccine can be vaccinated annually, as well as vaccinated against the flu. The benefits can last shorter or longer.

This question is important, but has not yet been rigorously studied.The data available so far is that vaccination Greatly suppresses infection For people who have no symptoms.Modana Phase 3 clinical trialDiagnostic tests prior to the second dose of the vaccine showed that 89.6% of asymptomatic and symptomatic cases were prevented by the first dose.

Preliminary results From Phase 3 study Oxford-AstraZeneca The vaccine showed a 67% reduction on a positive swab test after a single vaccination.

The result says, “It’s really encouraging.” John Swartsberg, Professor Emeritus of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. “It will make me feel that I can be more secure around others as responsible.”

The decision to bring together vaccinated people involves a mental “calculation,” says Swartsburg. Vaccinated people can become infected.

As more people are vaccinated and the number of infected people continues to decline over time, Moss says that the group of vaccinated people will be “safer” and safer. continue.

Say “for safety” Cynthia Raifer“We need to practice distance measurements as much as possible in the short term until we have a wider distribution of vaccines,” said Cornell University’s associate professor of immunology. “She avoids large groups and wears masks. We recommend that you wear it and continue to follow the guidelines of being at least 6 feet away.

There are also uncertainties about how effective the vaccine is against new mutants for which no vaccine has been discovered.

“The more prevalent COVID is now, the more likely it is that a variant will occur,” says Leifer. “we Unable to predict when a new variant will occur It is probably not covered by the vaccine. “

The· Novavax Vaccines that have not been approved for use have shown a significant reduction in efficacy from 89.3 percent to 49.4 percent for variants that originated in South Africa but have since become internationally widespread.Pfizer and Moderna still Test how well the vaccine works Against the more contagious variants first discovered in the UK

Experts agree that everyone should wear a mask, at least for the time being. Not only do you not know who is vaccinated and who is not vaccinated, but it can also lead to troublesome and confusing situations, but the immune response to the vaccine varies from person to person.

“That is, when 100 people are vaccinated, there are different levels of response to the vaccine. Some may not be enough to protect them,” says Leifer. There is really no way to know how your body responded to the vaccine. Therefore, wearing a mask provides additional protection. There are still unresolved questions about how well a vaccinated person can infect the virus.

“I see vaccines as big patches, but there are other patches I need to protect myself,” says Swartzberg. “The vaccine is probably the biggest.” Another such patch is a mask, and he believes that no one should stop using it.

For many people, it’s been months or years since they were able to meet their family and friends in person, but vaccination doesn’t always happen automatically. Completely safe to travel world.

“I think it depends on how comfortable people are, but it’s important to note that at this point it’s unpredictable when new variants will occur, where they will occur, and whether you will be protected. There is, “says Leifer. .. “Unlike when I was vaccinated, suddenly there was a Captain America’s shield around.”

Swartsburg says traveling by air is a different story, although you may soon feel that you can safely interact with other vaccinated individuals in small groups. It took longer to be sure that not many people were vaccinated on the plane or airport. “

The laid-back world of 2019 may now be a distant memory, but the ongoing development of the vaccine gives us a cautious sense of normality, such as eating at a restaurant, going to school, or karaoke nights with friends. It seems to be understandable.

To date, more than 107 million people have been vaccinated worldwide.In the United States, about 3 percent of the population Fully vaccinated..It is estimated that 70% of the U.S. population Vaccinated at least partially By mid-September at the current pace; researchers say that 75 to 80 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated before the country reaches herd immunity.

There are signs that normality may have returned on the road to herd immunity. Swartsberg says that reducing the number of new cases makes you feel better and less likely to be exposed to the virus.

“The way I see this work is that it will be a kind of phase transition back to the pre-pandemic era,” Moss says.The first step is Reduce cases, hospitalizations and deaths through vaccination As a result, thorough contact tracing can be implemented in an effective way. “We talked about tracking, but what happened was that the number of cases was so high across the United States that it only overwhelmed the system,” he says.

Leifer hopes that vaccine deployment can be sped up with creative distribution and manufacturing planning. “My vision is to get there by the end of summer and allow students to get back to school,” she says.

Vaccines are not a golden ticket, but they provide people with a way to reduce their risk and return to their loved ones faster.

“I’m not hugging my grandchildren or children. It’s been 10 months now,” says Swartsberger. “At some point, you really need to do that.”