Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, 65, received his second dose of the Covid vaccine a week ago, he said during an interview on the social media Clubhouse app on Wednesday. But even though the Microsoft co-founder is completely vaccinated, he still follows safety precautions like wearing a mask.
“I want to set a good example,” Gates told Andrew Ross Sorkin at Clubhouse. “If you are vaccinated, you can still transmit.”
The Centers for Disease Control says even people who are completely vaccinated against Covid should continue to follow public safety measures. Although vaccines in use by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been shown to be very effective in preventing serious illness and death from Covid, it is unclear at this time whether they prevent transmission.
“I won’t stop wearing masks or taking care, especially around older people who haven’t been vaccinated,” Gates told Sorkin, who is also a co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box”.
Many people have wondered when we can return to normalcy or at least reduce prevention measures such as social distancing and masking.
“Only in late spring or summer will we reach numbers where their behavior can be changed in a meaningful way,” Gates said.
Gates said he plans to wear masks throughout the fall until infection rates drop significantly, adding that the practice “is not a disastrous thing.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said Americans may need to continue wearing masks until 2022, during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. The need for masks depends on the level of virus circulating in a community.
“If you see the level really, really very low, I want you to keep going down to such a low baseline that … there’s a minimal and minimal threat that you’ll be exposed to someone who is infected,” Fauci said. .
While vaccinated people should wear masks in public and around people outside the home who have not received the vaccine, it is safe for fully vaccinated people to gather without masks.
In May or June, all priority groups will be vaccinated so young people without underlying conditions will be able to be vaccinated, Fauci said during the February 18 interview with “Pod Save America.”
There should be enough doses of vaccine to inoculate 300 million people by July. Then, according to Fauci, he could spend the summer putting vaccines in everyone’s arms.
To check your eligibility status, you can use the NBC News vaccination plan.
Take a look at: The Best Credit Cards for Buildings of 2021
Do not miss it: What Dr. Fauci is, and does not, now completely vaccinated against Covid