I am vaccinated against the coronavirus, do I always take care of myself the same?

The public health emergency due to the coronavirus has led to the rampant development of safe and effective vaccines in less than a year in a world – especially the West – that has had to learn to live with a mask, distancing, individual isolation and mass confinement. Now, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has relaxed prevention measures a bit for people already vaccinated against the coronavirus. He says that If they have received the corresponding doses, they can now be found in closed places without a mask. Instead, they should continue to wear it when they are in public places. However, some experts say it is too premature and that the measures also depend on the progress of vaccination in each country.

In Latin America, the vaccination situation is different and local experts believe that preventive measures for people already vaccinated should remain the same. “For now, the recommendation for people vaccinated has not changed. It continues to be the same as the unvaccinated ones. This is due to the fact we are still at the start of vaccination», Clarified Infobae Florencia Cahn, infectologist and president of the Argentine Society of Vaccination. “The recommendations for preventive care against COVID-19 are not just about the vaccine,” he said. The vaccine can prevent disease or even severe forms. By which, people vaccinated could get the infection, be asymptomatic and pass the virus on to others, even if they do not get sick “.

CDC guidelines recognize that vaccine protection (including both doses) is not immediate and that many unanswered questions remain. “COVID-19 vaccines are effective in protecting you from the disease. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start doing things they had stopped doing because of the pandemic, ”the CDC guide explains.. But he cautions: “We are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Once you have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should continue to take precautions in public places, such as wearing a mask, staying six feet from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces until. that we know more. “.

CDC experts note that the previously vaccinated person “can now meet fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask; You may encounter unvaccinated people from another household (for example, visiting relatives who live together) indoors without a chin strap or mask, unless one of those people or someone they live with is at increased risk of serious illness from COVID-19 “. In addition, he specifies for the population of the United States who have already been vaccinated, that “if they have been with someone with COVID-19, they do not need to stay away from others or be tested unless they show symptoms. ” .

Despite easing measures for those vaccinated, the US federal body admitted, “We are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Once you have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should continue to take precautions in public places, such as wearing a mask or chin strap, staying six feet from others, and avoiding crowds and bad spaces. broken down until we know more ”. In the United States, only vaccines manufactured by the companies Pfizer-BioNTec, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson / Janssen are authorized.

In the Argentina, The Nation’s Ministry of Health has already published three manuals with recommendations on COVID-19 vaccines. It is specified that “the protection of the vaccine is not immediate: the vaccination envisages a series of 2 doses and it will take 1 to 2 weeks after the second dose to consider that the protection is adequate.

No vaccine is 100% effective (the disease can occur, and if it does, it is usually attenuated), say Argentinian textbooks. Since there is little information on the efficacy of the vaccine in the population; its ability to reduce disease, severity or (primarily) transmission; and for how long the protection it confers lasts, vaccinees must continue to adhere to all applicable care guidelines, to protect themselves and others ”.

The vaccination manuals for COVID-19 recommend that vaccinated people “protect themselves and others”: Keep the distance of 2 meters with other people; wear a homemade mask when going out and at work; avoid meetings in closed spaces, wash your hands with soap and water, do not share a companion or dishes, cough and sneeze into the crook of the elbow; ventilate the rooms; and don’t touch your face.

Infographic: Marcelo Regalado

KEEP READING: