What is safe to do after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? Experts weigh.

If you just received the coronavirus vaccine and your mind is buzzing about all the things you can do now that you have some protection against COVID-19, it’s certainly understandable.

This has been an incredibly difficult year and we have given up on many things. We were unable to go out safely with friends and family. We cancel weddings and parties. Travel plans have been postponed and birthdays and holidays have been unusually quiet. Naturally, strokes on the arm will arouse some pent-up excitement about being able to enjoy all the things you missed.

So, what can you do now? Well, this is complicated. IIn general, assessing how safe an activity will be after being vaccinated is not so simple. Most of the time, very little has changed for vaccinees.

Experts emphasize that it is a little early to say that you can resume a pre-pandemic lifestyle, especially considering the fact that many other people have not yet been vaccinated. Herd immunity, when about 70% or more of the population is immune to the disease, is the main target of “normality”.

Vaccines are highly effective against the virus that leads to hospitalization and death, which is great, but it is not the only thing to consider now. FORThe growing research indicates that vaccines can reduce transmission, but more evidence needs to be collected.

All of this means that no activity is fully risk-free at the moment. However, with the right precautions, some of your favorite activities can be a little safer, according to experts. But there are other vital factors that you need to keep in mind as we navigate the rest of the pandemic.

Before evaluating the safety of various post-vaccination activities, it is worth noting some important caveats.

One, you want to look at the community stream. If the cases are extremely high in your area, certain activities (such as dining indoors) will be much more risky compared to an area with minimal COVID-19 activity.

Second, you still need to assess your personal risk. We must all continue to wear masks and maintain physical distance. If you have underlying health problems that make you more vulnerable to COVID-19 or if you live with someone who does, it will be vital to continue to practice tried and tested safety precautions. Keep in mind that about 1 in 20 people you will not be protected even after being vaccinated.

Finally, emerging evidences has shown us that even mild cases can lead to devastating, long-lasting symptoms that persist for months, potentially years. This goes for people who are healthy and may even include people who have had a asymptomatic infection. So while the injection protects most people against serious illness, there are many unanswered questions about what is in store for people who get a mild to moderate case of COVID-19 after being vaccinated.

Walking with other people who have been vaccinated, just looking at that instance on their own, is probably low risk.

“If you are meeting with people who you know are vaccinated and take two doses, you probably do not need to wear a mask, because even if, for some reason, you are an asymptomatic carrier and have given them, the likelihood of them getting very sick will be low “, said Krysia Lindan, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

However, it gets complicated when you consider other people. It is important to take into account the health of everyone involved, he said. Chris Thompson, immunologist and associate professor of biology in the biology department at Loyola University Maryland.

For example, if everyone is really healthy, it may be less risky, but if someone has “underlying complications, why risk it?” Thompson said.

The same goes for spending time indoors with friends or family who have not been vaccinated. This is definitely more risky. If you are vaccinated, you will have less chance of getting the infection, but you still risk passing it on to others without knowing it.

“You are taking some risk. It’s less than it was before, but I wouldn’t be completely arrogant about it, ”said Lindan.

Although a couple of small studies suggested that vaccines cut transmission, we really don’t know if you can still spread it, said Thompson.

Most infectious disease experts agree that eating indoors is still risky, since coronavirus is an airborne disease (meaning it can hang in the air for hours and be inhaled). Although the risk of getting sick decreases substantially after vaccination, there is still a world where you can go out to eat and get COVID-19.

In general, dining outdoors is much safer than indoors. (When we say outdoors, we mean totally outdoors – not a closed external structure.) Being indoors, without a mask and in close proximity to other people who are talking and laughing, invites the opportunity for the virus to spread.

If you choose to eat indoors after getting the vaccine, wear a mask when you’re not actively eating and avoid crowded places, Lindan said. If you are older and at risk of serious COVID-19 disease, it is probably not a wise idea to remove your mask and start eating indoors near strangers who may or may not be vaccinated.

Thompson said it is advisable to follow the same standards in effect for unvaccinated people. The risk of getting sick will be less, but if you have to fly, wear a good mask and maybe even face protection. “None of that really changes,” said Thompson.

We do not know how long immunity lasts after vaccination and, remember, not everyone who has been vaccinated will develop immunity. Airports and public restrooms are considered more dangerous than airplanes, which have excellent air filtration.

Public transport also poses the risk of aerosol virus exposure. The risk decreases after vaccination, especially for healthy people, but you can still spread the virus in these confined spaces. It is unclear how often buses, subways and transportation sharing are sanitized, and these transit services they are generally poorly ventilated, so masks are essential, regardless of whether you have been vaccinated or not.

Lindan said that after being vaccinated, “he could feel much safer” to get a haircut, assuming the team and other customers were also wearing masks. Salons are considered a high-risk environment, but combined with a good face mask, the vaccine helps to reduce the risk (but again, the risk is not zero).

Working out in one Academy it still bothers disease experts, since a series of outbreaks have occurred tracked for fitness studios.

“This is a place where people are breathing heavily and potentially exhaling viruses, and you would be doing that too,” said Lindan, who strongly suggests wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others if you go to the gym.

The risk here is primarily for the dentist, not the patient, explained Lindan. If the dentist is wearing the correct protective equipment and there is good ventilation, the risk of transmission is low. “It’s probably okay to clean your teeth,” said Lindan.

The same is generally true for other medical appointments. Do not postpone important tests (some experts are concerned that the pandemic could lead to more undetected health problems). Here is a quick guide on what to do about certain visits to the doctor.

The hard truth is that scientists don’t know exactly how safe any of these activities will be for people who have been vaccinated now. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are encouraging people to keep wearing masks until herd immunity is established and cases begin to decline dramatically.

Receiving the vaccine means that you have done your part to slow the spread of COVID-19, but you are not given a free pass right now. If we all get the chance when it’s our turn and hold on to our masks for a little while longer, we can eliminate COVID-19 relatively quickly.

Being vaccinated is “a big step forward,” said Thompson, “but we’re going to get over it as a community, not as individuals.”

Experts are still learning about COVID-19. The information in this story is what was known or available at the time of publication, but the orientation may change as scientists discover more about the virus. Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most up-to-date recommendations.