SALT LAKE CITY: As the COVID-19 vaccine campaign increases and more Utahns are protected, people wonder when they can reunite with loved ones who have already been vaccinated.
Some people over the age of 70 will soon be fully vaccinated, but is it too early to visit them?
Dr. Emily Spivak, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah Health, said caution still needs to be exercised around vaccinated people.
The positive: vaccines prevent this person from suffering from a symptomatic infection and serious illness. But researchers do not know to what extent vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection or the ability of people to spread the virus without knowing they are sick.
Therefore, the best recommendation is to follow local health guidelines.
“We shouldn’t change our behaviors until we vaccinate a very large proportion of the population,” Spivak said.
Still, we need to avoid travel, masking, and social distance, the doctor said. But Spivak also acknowledges that many of our loved ones have been extraordinarily isolated for nearly a year, and he understands that some people will risk approaching.
“If you visit, it shouldn’t be between the first and second dose, and it should be at least two weeks or later after the second dose,” he said.
This will allow the vaccinated person to have time to get maximum protection.
If you’re meeting someone who has recently been vaccinated, Spivak said wear a mask, keep your distance, and if you can, be outside.
“Don’t let the guard completely down,” he said. “You still use some of these basic mitigation strategies that we’ve talked about to prevent asymptomatic transmission, ideally with masks.”
Available vaccines, so far, appear to protect against variants of the virus that appear in the United States. Even though vaccines have reduced efficacy against variants, they appear to be very protective against serious illness and hospitalization.
When you are available for a vaccine, he said they all offer the protection we will need.
“The sooner we can get people to get them, regardless of the vaccine they offer you, the faster we will get” herd immunity “or sufficient protection from the population that will slow down the transmission of this virus and perhaps return to normal. “, he said.
It is another aspect of this vaccine campaign that requires a lot of patience.
“I think we’re going in the right direction. I’d like to see it go faster and with a wider spread, but I’m optimistic we’ll get there,” Spivak said.
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Jed Boal