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In the nearly year-long battle against the novel coronavirus, hopes of ending the pandemic come with the development of COVID-19 vaccines, two of which have already been urgently approved in the United States and have since been deployed across the country – albeit slowly.
Many healthcare workers, residents and staff in long-term care facilities have received either the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, the first to receive emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) United, the one developed by Moderna, the second to obtain such approval from the federal agency. More vaccinations will follow, with the Trump administration, in an effort to speed up efforts, asking states to expand distribution to include people aged 65 and over, and those at high risk of serious illness by releasing second doses reserved for these people. who have already received the first blow.
Both vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in late-stage clinical trials, and so far Pfizer officials have expressed confidence in its vaccine’s ability to protect against a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus while touting the flexibility of the technology should an adjustment be required. made. (This jab, along with Moderna’s, was created using revolutionary mRNA technology, what some have called “21st century science.”)
But as the long-awaited vaccine rollout continues, an important question remains: is it safe to see friends and family after receiving the vaccine, especially if those friends and family have not yet been vaccinated?
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Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, with experts expecting more than 90% effectiveness in preventing symptomatic coronavirus infection about a week after the second dose. But note the key words here: symptomatic infection.
“We do not yet know about the spread of asymptomatic infection [following vaccination]Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of the healthcare website WebMD, told Fox News by email. “Studies are currently underway and I think we will find out in a few months.
While Pfizer and Moderna have said their vaccines are around 95% effective in preventing people from getting sick with symptoms of COVID-19, at present there is not much evidence on the issue of Whether these vaccines will stop the asymptomatic infection and transmission that account for more than half of all coronavirus cases, a recent model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.
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For Moderna jab, peer-reviewed Phase 3 clinical trial data published in the New England Journal of Medicine just before the new year showed the vaccine reduced asymptomatic infections by about two-thirds.
But the data set was small, leading the researchers to conclude that “the data were not sufficient to assess asymptomatic infection”, although “the preliminary exploratory analysis suggests that some degree of prevention can be assured after the first dose, ”they wrote.
In the meantime, when you think about spending time with those who live outside your home, “it’s about managing the risk,” even though you’ve been vaccinated, Whyte said.
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“The week after the second dose, your risk of [a] symptomatic infection is very low. So if you wear a mask – to protect the unvaccinated people you visit – and they wear a mask and always try to [socially] distance, and keep the visit brief, I think that’s something you can pursue, ”he said.
But “we can’t completely eliminate the risk,” Whyte warned.
“There is value [in] social interaction, so slowly expanding your bubble after vaccination is a reasonable strategy – ideally with people who have also been vaccinated. That’s why we need to vaccinate as many people as possible quickly, “he continued.” Even if you are fully vaccinated and someone else is not – wear the mask, physical distance – you can probably make brief visits, recognizing the risk of someone who has not been vaccinated still exists. “
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