by Mandy Armitage, MD, January 13,2021
Key takeaways:
- You should still wear your mask and keep your distance from others after you have been vaccinated.
- We don’t know yet how well the COVID-19 vaccines reduce the spread of the virus.
Almost 9 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, and that number is growing daily. While this is promising, we still need to use caution to prevent spreading infection. Of course, this means social distancing, washing your hands, and wearing a mask. But you might be wondering if all that is necessary after you get vaccinated. Keep reading to learn more.
Do I need to wear my mask and social distance after the first dose?
Yes. The currently approved vaccines are designed to be given as two doses. You are not considered fully vaccinated until after your second dose. It is possible to get sick between doses.
Do I need to wear my mask and social distance after the second dose?
Yes. The available vaccines are expected to be highly effective, but they’re not perfect. Additionally, it usually takes your body at least a few weeks to build immunity after receiving the vaccine.
Also, experts still aren’t sure if the vaccines will prevent spread of the infection. The vaccine studies looked at how well the vaccines prevented symptomatic disease, but not asymptomatic infections or transmission.
In other words, if you’re vaccinated, you are more likely to be protected from severe disease, but you could still carry it and pass it along to others.
We already know that wearing masks can reduce virus transmission greatly. That’s why it’s important to keep your mouth and nose covered and keep your distance for now.
When will I be able to stop wearing a mask and socially distancing?
No one knows for sure at this point. Most other vaccines that protect against infections also help to reduce transmission, so there is reason to believe that the COVID-19 vaccines could do the same. But we need to wait for more data to be sure. The timeline will also depend on how many people are getting vaccinated and how quickly the virus continues to spread.
What if I’m not vaccinated, but I’ve had COVID-19?
The same answer applies here: Keep wearing your mask. It is possible to get COVID-19 more than once, and no one knows exactly how long you’re protected after being sick with it. Again, it’s not clear whether you can carry and spread the virus after you’ve had it.
Know that you should still get the vaccine (when it’s available to you), even if you’ve had COVID-19 . If you’ve recently been sick with COVID, you should wait until you are symptom-free and have completed your quarantine to get vaccinated.
Visit the CDC’s COVID-19 website to find out more about vaccination roll out in your state.
The bottom line
You should continue to wear your mask and practice other public health measures like washing your hands and socially distancing after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. While the vaccine is highly effective, meaning that it can protect you from getting sick, it’s still possible that you can spread the disease after getting vaccinated.
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