Should I wear a mask after receiving the COVID vaccine?

The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations is accelerating across California, a promising turning point in the pandemic that nonetheless raises a new question: What precautions should vaccinated people take?

The vaccines, while safe and effective, are not at this point a license to abandon all infection prevention protocols altogether, health officials say.

According to experts, basic steps like wearing masks in public and maintaining a physical distance from people outside your home will always provide an extra layer of security, and help to further reduce COVID-19 transmission – allowing ultimately more parts of the economy to reopen.

Here are some tips for those who have been recently vaccinated or are about to queue:

Yes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continued adherence to public health measures such as wearing headgear, observing physical distancing, regular hand washing, and avoiding crowds and areas poorly ventilated is always recommended, even for someone who has received the required two doses of vaccine.

“It is important that everyone continue to use all the tools available to help stop this pandemic as we learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work in real conditions,” says CDC guidelines, especially since it is not yet definitively known The COVID-19 vaccine will prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people, even if you do not get sick yourself.

Wearing a universal mask, in particular, is considered essential to keep the spread of the coronavirus on a downward trend. A recent CDC report found that states that have imposed mask orders have seen a decline in the growth of hospitalizations associated with COVID-19.

How do I wear my mask correctly?

The key, federal scientists said in a report released this month, is to better fit the masks.

Using a loose medical procedure mask or just a cloth mask blocked only about 40% of particles from a simulated cough during testing. But tighter masks have the potential to reduce exposure to potentially infectious particles by more than 90%, the CDC said.

“Wearing any type of mask is much more effective than not wearing a mask. And properly fitted masks provided the best performance, ”said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC.

And the double masks?

One way to improve masking is to first put on a paper mask – such as a blue surgical mask – and then put a tight-fitting fabric mask over it, the county public health director said. Los Angeles, Barbara Ferrer.

The second mask covers the large gaps that can occur with a paper mask, allowing air to leak to the sides.

Another option is to use a fabric mask that has multiple layers of fabric, according to the CDC.

What are the other mask tips?

• Using a nasal thread – a metal strip at the top of a mask that can be molded to fit the bridge of your nose – can help prevent air from escaping through the top.
• Try to make sure that air does not flow from the area near your eyes or the sides of the mask. “If the mask is properly fitted, you will feel warm air pass through the front of the mask and may be able to see the mask material in and out with each breath,” the CDC explains.
• Tying the earrings to the edge of the mask and folding and tucking excess mask material under the edges can help improve the fit. Check it out instruction video.
• Use only one KN95 mask at a time. CDC officials say the KN95s as well as the traditional N95s are meant to be used alone. Adding additional masks below or above them “could not only affect their fit to the face and decrease their effectiveness, but could increase the effort required to breathe through them,” the CDC said in a report. -mail to the Times. CDC suggests do not use N95 masks, saying that they “should be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders to avoid supply shortages. “