10 Jan Covid Vaccine Information
Updated, March 8, 2021
Today the CDC released new guidelines, explaining what fully vaccinated individuals can now do safely, as well as pointing out areas where caution is still necessary.
Posted February 28, 2021
More and more residents have now received their second shot. Unfortunately, it has been quite difficult to find a satisfactory answer to the question, “Now what?” There have been plenty of warnings about what does not change: Keep wearing masks, remain at a safe distance from others, and so on. Inevitably, this makes people wonder, “Why did I bother?” Answers like “You are helping build a herd immunity” are not very satisfying.
This concern has been addressed directly by Dr. Leanna Wen, an op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, who has extensive experience in Health Management. Read her column, “The vaccinated need to know: What’s safe for them to do?” She points out, for example, that essential activities such as medical appointments, which might have previously been postponed, are now safe. Even better, some non-essential activities might be OK. For example, she says,
“A couple who want to get together with another fully vaccinated couple are probably fine to do so, including to hug and see one another indoors, without masks.”
This does not mean that there is no longer any reason to be cautious. These recommendations are based on information that is available now. As more data become available the guidelines may change, but there are reasons to be optimistic.