With about 5% of Americans having received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, many are asking themselves: What activities are safe? Some experts have an opinion.
Can I have dinner? Yes but…
It would be safer to wait until everyone is reunited to be vaccinated, health experts say. Current approved vaccines require two shots to work more effectively, and full protection may not even reach a week or two later the second dose.
Although scientists are confident that the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for COVID-19 are 94% to 95% effective in preventing clinically recognizable diseases, they still do not know whether vaccinated people may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus.
“We still don’t know if [the vaccine] prevents asymptomatic infection, ”said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US government’s leading infectious disease specialist, on theLA Times Today”Pfizer and Moderna vaccine program. “So it is conceivable and theoretically possible that you could be infected, but because you are vaccinated, you are not sick. In other words, the vaccine works, but it did not protect you from infection ”.
Share a hug? yea.
This “means that you may have a virus in your nasopharynx that can be eliminated. And, theoretically, you could infect someone else, ”said Fauci. “And that’s why we say, until we get the answer – and we’ll get the answer to that question, hopefully in the coming months – but we tell people that although you’re vaccinated, you should wear a mask, because you could be spreading viruses that can infect other people. “
But Fauci also said that if both parties had been vaccinated, they could embrace.
“Can I sit and give them a hug?” Fauci said last week in an interview with MSNBC, echoing a question about the interaction between vaccinated family members who don’t live together. “The answer is very likely: ‘Of course you can.’ “
But it is not clear whether, for example, a vaccinated grandfather visiting unvaccinated children and grandchildren could be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus and pass it on to family members, especially if they are not masked.
“You have to be careful because grandma can still catch the virus in your nasopharynx, even though the vaccine is preventing you from becoming physically ill,” said Fauci recently at NBC’s “Today“show.” That’s why we say, until we have the vast majority of people vaccinated and the virus level is very low, [even] when you are vaccinated … it would be prudent to wear a mask. “
Dinner indoors at a restaurant? Do not.
On Monday, Fauci told a news conference that federal officials were making recommendations on what vaccinated people can do. But there are certain activities that even those who are fully vaccinated should avoid because the virus is still widespread, said Fauci, like dining in restaurants and going to the movies.
“We are still at an unacceptably high baseline level” of the disease, said Fauci.
Quarantine if you are exposed? Do not.
But those who received both doses of the vaccine no longer need to be quarantined if they are exposed to a person infected with the coronavirus, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the Monday briefing. -market.
Mingle in a meeting? Yes but …
Other experts also evaluated what life can be like after vaccination. Dr. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at UC San Francisco and medical director of the HIV Clinic at General Hospital Zuckerberg San Francisco, said on a campus forum that she thinks fully vaccinated people can be free to mingle, like at a party, without restrictions.
But when vaccinated people are close to those who have not received the vaccines, everyone should keep their masks on, said Gandhi. “We will keep you safe and keep our masks around the unvaccinated,” she said.
Although some outside the federal government already express opinions on what is considered safe, Andy Slavitt, a senior consultant on the White House COVID-19 response team, said in the briefing “this is part of the speech … it’s not that we’re going to jump very quickly. “
In California counties that are at the most restrictive, or purple, level, meetings can be held, but can include members from a maximum of three families, must be outside, and people from different families must be at least two meters apart. People should be masked, unless they are actively eating or drinking.
Indoor meetings can be held in counties in the least restrictive layers – red, orange and yellow – but officials strongly recommend that they be held outdoors.
Continue masking? yea.
The experts also suggested that the masks should continue to be used and say that N95 and KN95 masks offer superior protection.
KN95 Masks – built with a Chinese design – filters up to 95% of air particles. They may be preferable for those who must be in close contact with people who do not live in the same house or for people who are at increased risk for serious illnesses caused by COVID-19, according to the CDC. The CDC website offers tips on what to look for when purchasing a KN95 Mask.
The CDC, however, points out that these masks generally require more effort to breathe and can be more expensive and difficult to obtain. Poor quality is also an issue; at least 60% of the KN95s assessed by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were considered does not meet the requirements its manufacturers claimed to meet.
A KF94 mask – built with a South Korean design that is 94% effective – is a good alternative to an N95 mask, according to a tweet by Joseph Allen, assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health TH Chan.
Allen said in several interviews that KF94s are comfortable and come in small and medium sizes, a benefit for people who think N95 masks are too big and do not provide a tight fit, making them ineffective.
A normal blue medical mask usually has a side gap (circle). To improve the performance of a mask, employees suggest placing a cloth mask tightly over the paper mask.
(US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Despite all the talk about the N95, KN95 and KF94 masks, Walensky said the agency does not recommend the routine use of N95 masks for protection against coronavirus by the general public.
“Abundant scientific laboratory data, epidemiological investigations and extensive population-level analysis demonstrate that the masks now available to the general public are effective and are working,” said Walensky in a recent briefing. “And there is little evidence that, when used correctly, tightly fitting medical masks fail to transmit disease.”
The CDC has suggested that people wear masks that have two or more layers of washable and breathable fabric; completely cover your nose and mouth; fits comfortably on the sides of the face and has no gaps; and it has a nose thread to prevent air from leaking through the top. The agency warns against choosing masks made of fabric that make breathing difficult, such as vinyl, or that have expiratory valves that allow the escape of viral particles.
Make one common mask even more effective, experts suggest putting on a paper mask – like an ordinary blue surgical mask – and then covering it with a tight-fitting cloth mask. The second mask will cover the gaps that can occur with a paper mask.
The use of a loose mask for medical procedures or just a cloth mask blocked only about 40% of the particles of a simulated cough in tests. But more fitted masks have the potential to reduce exposure to potentially infectious particles by more than 90%, said the CDC.
Keep guard? yea.
Another good masking strategy is to buy cloth masks with a replaceable filter, Said Gandhi.
Internal visits, such as trips to the supermarket, may require a double mask or use a cloth mask with a replaceable filter to contain the transmission of the virus, Gandhi said. But if you are outdoors in public, a simple cloth mask or a surgical mask is sufficient, and no mask is necessary if you are alone, she said.
But the main point, said Walensky of the CDC, is this: “The masks work, and they work best when they have a good fit and are used correctly. … Masks should be used in combination with other preventive measures to offer you and your community the greatest protection against COVID-19: Stay at least two meters away from other people you don’t live with, avoid crowds and travel and wash your hands frequently. “