UCHealth: Post-Vaccine Keep Wearing a Mask + More Updates!

30 Jan UCHealth: Post-Vaccine Keep Wearing a Mask + More Updates!

The facts documented in the following article titled “Keep wearing a mask even after getting your COVID-19 vaccine” remain sobering. The in-depth story was written by Katie Kerwin McCrimmon from UCHealth Today. In short, even post-vaccine, especially peeps 60+, continue to wear a mask, wash your hands and social distance – or caveat emptor.

Dr. Michelle Barron says the COVID-19 vaccines work very well. But, people need to keep taking precautions and wearing masks even after getting COVID-19 vaccines until millions of others can get their vaccines. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.

If you are among the first people in the U.S. to receive your vaccine to prevent COVID-19, lucky you!

But, now what?

How can you stay safe and protect loved ones after getting your COVID-19 vaccine? What are the dos and don’ts after getting your vaccine?

Can you gather up all your masks and pitch them in the trash? Can you revert to pre-pandemic norms and celebrate big milestones like birthdays and weddings in person with big groups of friends or hop on a plane for a long-awaited trip?

Unfortunately, no.

“We are not done. The shot is not your ticket to freedom. You’ve got to keep wearing your mask,” said Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention and control for UCHealth and one of the top infectious disease experts in Colorado.

“Once the infection rates go down significantly and transmission is low, then maybe we can do things differently. But, even China is having outbreaks again. The worldwide effects of the pandemic are still ongoing.”

COVID-19 vaccines are incredibly safe and effective. And, we are extraordinarily fortunate to have vaccines so quickly, less than a year after we all first heard of the dreaded COVID-19, said Barron, who is also a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

But, until millions more people get their vaccines, those who have received either one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccines must act pretty much as we all have for nearly a year. That means we all need to keep wearing masks, washing our hands frequently, staying at least six feet away from people outside of our homes, avoiding indoor gatherings, and for now, connecting through online platforms.

Barron offers advice on how to move forward even if you’ve gotten your COVID-19 vaccine and how to keep others who are waiting for their vaccines safe in the meantime.

Do we need to continue to wear masks even after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes. It’s critical to keep wearing masks. Barron said the virus that causes COVID-19 is still spreading widely throughout Colorado and the U.S….

Continue reading here to find out if you are protected from Covid post-vaccine; if vaccinated peeps can still get the virus, but be asymptomatic and still spread corona. How should older people behave? When will life return to normal?