Why you should wear a mask even after taking COVID-19 or the vaccine

This month, Pfizer and Modern vaccines have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in the USA. Since December 14, the Vaccine for covid-19 doses started to be administered in all states. If you think that after receiving both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, you won’t have to worry about wearing a mask or social distance, think again.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says it is important to continue to follow the protection guidelines in place while experts learn more about protecting the environment. Vaccines for covid-19 provide, the possibility of vaccinated people continuing to spread the disease and more about immunity and reinfection if someone has recovered from COVID-19.

Here’s what health experts and the CDC have to say about why you need to keep wearing a mask and social detachment after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Read More: COVID-19 vaccines are safe, even without long-term data

The COVID-19 vaccine may not give you full protection immediately

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines come in two doses – the first injection begins to build protection, while the second injection is needed to get the maximum protection that the vaccine has to offer against the coronavirus, according to the CDC.

The first shot was proved to be highly effective, Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, director of quality and patient safety at Wexner Medical Center, told CNET. He said the second dose amplifies the protection and will extend the life of the immunity.

After receiving the second injection, your body needs time to build the necessary protection to fight the virus. It may take up to two weeks to your vaccine COVID-19 to start protecting you from the coronavirus, according to the CDC. During this time, it is important to keep you and the people around you safe, maintaining a social distance and wearing a mask when you are around people outside your home.

You can still spread COVID-19, even after being vaccinated

Because the coronavirus and the COVID-19 vaccine are so new, there is not enough evidence at this point to know whether people can still carry the coronavirus pathogens and pass them on without being infected.

“This gives the virus enough time to grow in the airways and spread the infection to others, while the body is fighting its own infection, aided by the vaccine,” Gonsenhauser told CNET.

There is a lack of data that shows whether or not a vaccinated individual can spread the virus after being infected, and a person could potentially be a Asymptomatic carrier, he added.

“Although the vaccine is highly effective, there is still a small chance – 5 to 10% – that after someone is vaccinated, they can become infected,” said Gonsenhauser. However, more data can be made available as scientists and doctors learn more about the vaccine’s effects on COVID-19.

Read More: COVID-19 reinfection: can you catch the coronavirus more than once? What we know so far

Until the experts fully understand the protection that a COVID-19 vaccine offers, it is important to continue wearing a mask and following social distancing protocols, says the CDC. This can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus between communities of people until more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Wearing a mask is “increasing protection from vaccination,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, on December 14 on an affiliated CBS radio. The CDC says that together, wearing a face mask and being vaccinated will offer the best protection against the contagion and spread of COVID-19.

There are still unknowns about reinfection and ‘natural’ immunity

“The immune response, including the duration of immunity, to COVID-19 has not yet been understood,” says the CDC.

Further research is needed to determine the likelihood that you will be infected again, and the CDC says “it is not known what levels of antibodies are needed to protect against reinfection”.

The body’s defenses against the virus during and after infection appear to disappear relatively quickly, making it difficult to achieve herd immunity for a long period of time, according to Dr. William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School who is known for his work on the human genome and HIV / AIDS.

“The biggest concern is someone getting infected again with the same variant of COVID-19, not getting sick, but still being contagious to other people. You can get infected twice and be asymptomatic the second time and still carry and transmit it. it to other more vulnerable people around you, “said John V. Williams, professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.

So far, there have been very few cases of coronavirus reinfection. In fact, reported cases of reinfection with COVID-19 remain rare, according to the CDC. However, if COVID-19 is like other types of coronavirus, such as the common cold, reinfection will become more prevalent over time, according to Scientific American.

Unvaccinated people may think it’s okay to stop wearing a mask

It will take months or more for a sufficient population to be vaccinated to start seeing the number of cases drop substantially. Therefore, it is important to continue wearing masks whenever you are around people outside your home.

“If, after being vaccinated, people stop using their masks, other people who have not been vaccinated may start to think that masks are no longer needed,” said Gonsenhauser of social behavior. If these unvaccinated people have the virus, they can spread faster without wearing a mask.

Read More: The COVID-19 vaccination card is not an immunity passport. Here’s the difference

People in smaller groups are less likely to wear masks when together, according to a Vox survey first published in November. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they did not wear a mask when attending a meeting.

“Masks are a key measure to suppress transmission and save lives,” says the World Health Organization. If 95% of the public wears a mask, tens of thousands of lives can be saved, according to a Nature Medicine study of October.

If many Americans refuse the vaccine, wearing a mask can help you protect yourself

despite the COVID-19 vaccines proven to be safe, some Americans can avoid vaccination. Incorrect coronavirus vaccine myths and other erroneous information has falsely claimed that the vaccine will include government tracking microchips or will be forcibly administered by the military. This is not true.

Some may be mistakenly concerned that the vaccine was developed too quickly to be safe. Both vaccines in the USA have subjected to extensive clinical trials and proved to be 94% and 95% effective, well above the required 90% effectiveness limit.

Although a vaccine does not completely stop the pandemic in its path, it is the direct way to herd immunity. However, to get there, more people will need to get the coronavirus vaccine. And, due to a limited number of doses, not everyone can get the coronavirus vaccine at once. In fact, depending on the group you’re in, you can wait at least until April to get the vaccine, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease specialist in the United States – if not later.

If a significant portion of the population refuses to get the vaccine, we probably won’t see the number of new cases drop as quickly as we would like, says Gonsenhauser. He says that he and other medical service providers are doing everything they can to remind people how safe is the vaccine – bring related and accessible information to communities that have different oppositions of distrusting the vaccine, to help them make better informed decisions.

How long will I have to wear a mask and distance myself socially? What needs to happen?

There is currently insufficient information at this time to determine whether or when the majority of the population can safely stop wearing masks and avoid close contact with others to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, says the CDC, but it will likely fall to the numbers.

When there are sufficient observable changes, such as cases falling and the threat levels of the spread of the community dropping dramatically. When this happens, medical experts can again determine the need for a mask. However, it may still be 2021 before that happens.

“We would need to see a dramatic decrease in the number of new cases per 100,000 of the population after sufficient vaccines have been administered,” said Gonsenhauser.

For more information, here are the Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine and what we know so farand hidden medical expenses you may encounter after receiving the vaccine. Besides that, here’s where you can get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s your turn.

The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended for medical or health advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.