Coronavirus vaccines are the light at the end of a very dark tunnel, a pandemic that caused 2 million deaths worldwide and more than 420,000 in the US alone.
The good and bad news: While the light may be closer as more people are vaccinated, the end of the tunnel is still a long way off, even for those people who have received a vaccine.
In the United States, more than 3 million Americans have received two doses of vaccine, as of Monday afternoon, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They are primarily adults living or working in long-term care centers and front-line health workers who received priority access to the vaccine in all states.
Both vaccines take at least two weeks from the receipt of the second dose to generate an immune response. The Pfizer / BioNTech PFE,
BNTX,
the vaccine offers 95% efficacy while the Modern MRNA,
the vaccine offers 94% efficacy, according to final phase trials.
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A vaccinated individual still has the ability to contract coronavirus, although it is more likely to be asymptomatic.
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These efficacy rates for both vaccines mean there is a “94% who do not get seriously ill,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a CDC advisor and infectious disease specialist. “This is very successful.”
With the flu vaccines, he said that “we are not approaching any success. Year after year, it is approximately 45% [effective]”.
Does this mean that these 3 million vaccinated Americans can safely re-live their pre-COVID lives two weeks after receiving their second dose?
Not exactly.
A vaccinated individual still has the ability to contract coronavirus, although they are likely to be asymptomatic, according to preliminary data. Dr. Thomas Russo, head of infectious diseases at Buffalo University in New York, said it is still unclear whether these vaccinated people could pass it on to others.
That’s why Russo, who received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 5, said he only feels comfortable interacting with people who are also vaccinated for at least two weeks completely in unmasked settings.
“I would go to dinner with my vaccinated friends because the likelihood of us being infectious is low,” he said.
Does the difference in efficacy rate between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines matter?
The 0.5% difference in efficacy rates makes no “sense,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease expert and director of the Mayo Clinic’s vaccine research group in Rochester, Minnesota.
But a possible game change could be Johnson & Johnson JNJ,
vaccine expected to receive approval of the emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks
The company is expected to release phase 3 trial data this week, which will reveal the effectiveness rate of its single-dose vaccine.
Both the Pfizer and the Modern vaccine present low risks in terms of dangerous side effects. The CDC reported that there were 10 cases of anaphylaxis among the approximately 4 million doses administered between December 21 and January 10.
I must continue to wear a mask, even after I have been completely vaccinated?
Even if you have been completely vaccinated, it is important to continue wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing in public settings, such as supermarkets, restaurants, and transportation, where you are likely to meet more people who have not been vaccinated and who they could get infected by you.
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Even if you have been completely vaccinated, it is important to continue wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing in public settings.
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Not wearing a mask around older relatives and in public places even if you’ve been completely vaccinated “creates uncertainty and stress for other people because they don’t know if you’ve been vaccinated,” Russo told MarketWatch.
If I’ve been vaccinated, can I now eat inside restaurants?
Because diners do not normally wear masks inside restaurants, there is a greater chance that you or someone else will come in contact with respiratory drops that can transmit coronavirus.
Outdoor dining rooms are considerably safer than indoor dining rooms, according to health experts, because virus-containing drops have more room to disperse. It may also be easier to space tables more than six feet away on the outside.
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“None of us should be there,” Russo said referring to the covered restaurants
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Russo said he will continue to avoid eating inside because he could spread the virus to another person who is not vaccinated or is only partially vaccinated.
“None of us should be there,” Russo said referring to the covered restaurants.
That said, if future studies show that fully vaccinated people cannot transmit the virus, Russo would reconsider indoor food.
Is it okay to get on a plane?
Domestic round-trip flights on average were 25% cheaper last year than in 2019, according to data from travel website Hopper. But prices are expected to rise later this year as more people are vaccinated, according to some travel experts.
If you’ve been completely vaccinated, you don’t necessarily have to let travel thefts pass. In fact, Russo has not canceled a cruise trip that he and his wife booked two years ago and was due in late August this year.
He would feel comfortable going on a trip if his wife also got vaccinated completely i all others on board were fully vaccinated and tested before setting sail.
However, Poland advises against traveling because it can accelerate the spread of coronavirus. “It’s like fuel on fire,” he told MarketWatch.
Can I visit my grandparents now that I am vaccinated?
Coronavirus has disproportionately affected the elderly, especially those living in long-term care centers. Their documented vulnerability and susceptibility to contracting and potentially dying from coronavirus is why they receive priority access to the vaccine in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
That’s why during the pandemic crisis many nursing homes banned visitors and people stopped interacting personally with older people. As a result, seniors throughout the pandemic have experienced unprecedented rates of social isolation, which have been shown to increase their risk of developing dementia.
If you and an elderly friend or family member have been completely vaccinated, “the benefits of the visit will outweigh those small risks you might have from developing a serious case of coronavirus,” Russo told MarketWatch.
Similarly, Ashley Ritter, a geriatric nurse and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, said she will feel more comfortable visiting her immunocompromised and recently kidney transplanted father once she is fully vaccinated.
He will have to receive his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday. But Ritter, who also serves as chief clinician and vice president of the scientific communication project Dear Pandemic, will not visit him until he has been fully vaccinated for two weeks.
“I don’t see him in so many months, so there will be a lot more comfort in being in his company,” he said. She and her father continue to plan to wear masks side by side to make sure they don’t become asymptomatically unintentionally infected.
Ultimately, returning to normalcy depends on vaccinating as many people as possible, Ritter said. Health professionals say a vaccination rate of 70% to 80% would be on the verge of achieving herd immunity, where those who have the vaccine help prevent those who are not vaccinated from getting the virus.