With the success of vaccines and India announcing vaccine dates, the question on everyone’s mind therefore is do they still need to wear a mask and physically distance if they have taken the vaccine? The answer is a BIG YES!
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, “While the vaccines provide protection against COVID-19 disease, they have not been shown to prevent infection, so people who are immunized may still be able to transmit the virus. Additionally, the greater than 94% efficacy in preventing disease was not observed until several weeks after the second dose of the vaccines. Everyone will still need to wear a mask and practice physical distancing until a large section of the population has developed immunity, which may not be until late 2021. Even then, more data will be needed to see how long immunity lasts, and maybe additional rounds of immunizations may also be needed.”1
According to a recent report2 published in the New York Times, the new vaccines will probably prevent you from getting sick with COVID-19, butno one knows yet whether they will keep you from spreading the virus to others so until that information is clear, it is pertinent to maintain the same social distancing and mask measures because some vaccinated people could get infected without developing symptoms, and could then silently transmit the virus — especially if they come in close contact with others or stop wearing masks.
If vaccinated people are silent spreaders of the virus, they may keep it circulating in their communities, putting unvaccinated people at risk.
Experts are not yet sure how long the vaccine will be effective, and at this time the recommendation is to get both doses and then continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing and good hygiene.
Moreover, trials that have been conducted on and around the vaccines have shown that the vaccine could prevent people from becoming sick, but whether people who have been vaccinated can still transmit the virus, is still not researched in detail.
Which is why eminent cardiologist and Padma Shree Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal emphasizes in each of his weekly shows that we need to continue with the social distancing and hygiene measures that we have been carrying out since the beginning of 2020. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare also states that after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, we must continue to take all precautions like use of face cover or masks, hand sanitization and ‘do gaj ki doori’ – physical distancing of 6 feet.3
The report by the American Academy of Family Physicians1 also reiterates the following key points of note, with regards to the vaccines:
- The vaccine may cause mild pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, fever and muscle aches are common reactions.
- The vaccines do not contain a live virus; therefore, they cannot cause COVID-19.
- Vaccines provide protection against COVID-19 but won’t prevent infection. Those who are immunized may still be able to transmit the virus.
- It is important to continue wearing a mask, wash hands and physically distance even after getting the vaccine.
Readers are also urged to check the priority list4 for the vaccination drive in India in the report carried out by Health Patrol recently: https://healthpatrol.in/2020/12/31/the-indian-government-has-released-a-covid-19-vaccine-registration-website/
Source
1 https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/patient_care/public_health/COVID19-Vaccine-FAQs.pdf
2 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/health/covid-vaccine-mask.html
3 https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/FrequentlyAskedQuestionsonCOVID19vaccineFLWEnglish.pdf
4 https://healthpatrol.in/2020/12/31/the-indian-government-has-released-a-covid-19-vaccine-registration-website/
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