Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, 65, received his second dose of the Covid vaccine a week ago, he said during an interview with the social media app Clubhouse on Wednesday. But although the Microsoft co-founder is fully vaccinated, he is still following safety precautions, such as wearing a mask.
“I want to set a good example,” said Gates to Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Clubhouse. “If you get vaccinated, you can still transmit.”
The Centers for Disease Control say that even people who are fully vaccinated against Covid need to continue to follow public health safety measures. Although the vaccines in use by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been shown to be very effective in preventing serious illness and death by Covid, it is not clear at this stage whether they prevent transmission.
“I will not stop wearing masks or being careful, especially with older people who have not been vaccinated,” said Gates to Sorkin, who is also a co-anchor for CNBC’s “Squawk Box”.
Many people wonder to what extent we will be able to return to normal, or at least reduce preventive measures, such as social detachment and masking.
“It is only in late spring or summer that we will come to numbers where you can see a significant change in your behavior,” said Gates.
Gates said he plans to wear masks during the fall until infection rates drop significantly, adding that the practice “is not a disaster.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Adviser, said it is possible that Americans will need to continue wearing masks until 2022, during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. The need for masks depends on the level of virus circulating in the community.
“If you find that the level is falling very, very low, I want you to continue falling to a baseline so low that … there is a minimal, minimal threat that you will be exposed to someone who is infected,” said Fauci.
Although people who have been vaccinated must wear masks in public and close to people outside their home who have not received the vaccine, it is safe for fully vaccinated people to meet without masks.
In May or June, all priority groups will be vaccinated so that young people without underlying conditions are eligible to be vaccinated, said Fauci during an interview with “Pod Save America” on February 18.
There should be enough doses of the vaccine to inoculate 300 million people by July. So, according to Fauci, it may take until summer to put vaccines in everyone’s arms.
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