As much as we miss the Before Times—when we didn’t have to wear masks and we could go to crowded places and Travel, organize parties, attend concerts, and eat at the same table as acquaintances and strangers; those times will not return soon. No matter how good the news about vaccines is, hang on to the masks.
Eventually, we could get rid of it, but we don’t expect a return to pre-pandemic normalcy in the next year or two. For that:
We do not know if the vaccine prevents transmission
To date, efficacy data suggest that both the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine (the first COVID vaccine authorized for US use) and the Moderna vaccine (which will likely become the second) are good to avoid. that people get sick.
But we don’t know if the vaccine prevents you from getting infected with the virus or if it just keeps the infection from making you sick. You’re likely to do both, but we just don’t have enough information to say that.
Therefore, if you get the vaccine, you may be able to spread the coronavirus to other people. Even if you are one of the lucky people who have already received the vaccine, you should wear a mask when you are next to other people.
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Not everyone can get the vaccine
Right now, supplies are so limited that only a handful of people can get the vaccine. (Is it like that they are given first to health workers and residents of care facilities as residences; other high-risk people will follow.)
But even when more doses are available, not everyone will get the vaccine. Some people might choose not to. Some may have a health-related reason for not being able to, such as an allergy to a vaccine ingredient.
And basically, the vaccine is licensed for children. The Pfizer vaccine is for people 16 years of age and older and the Modern vaccine is for people over 18 years of age. No manufacturer has yet conducted large-scale testing with children.
Therefore, children and many teenagers will have to wear masks for a while longer. Although children do not tend to be very ill, they can spread the virus …probably less frequently than adults, but the investigation continues. Children make up more than 20% of the American population, so until vaccination can be difficult or impossible to achieve herd immunity.
During this time, when not everyone is vaccinated, expect meetings and travel to be done with caution., with the mask rules still in effect. Someone is unlikely to be willing or able to do it check medical records at concerts or parties or family reunions, so it is likely that distances and masks will still be needed in many contexts while we wait for COVID cases to decrease.
The masks are good, actually
Before COVID, there was some stigma when it came to wearing a face mask in public. Honestly, at first I wasn’t sure if Americans would be able to accommodate the trend. But masks have been popular in Asia for years, and are not just for pandemics.
Masks help you avoid spreading germs if you have a standard problem cold or flu, and so they have been for a long time has been used in Asia. In addition, they can be useful in other situations, such as keeping your nose warm when a handkerchief would just fall off.
Therefore, even if the vaccine is developed rapidly and even if it’s safe for everyone, and even if he proves it effective to prevent transmission, we will wear masks to prevent COVID for at least a while. And after that, it will still be useful for them to have them around.