There are loved ones you haven’t seen in almost a year. There are friends you haven’t hugged or laughed with in person in a long time, but you don’t feel like continuing to make Zoom video calls either. Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is out, is it finally safe to see people after they have been vaccinated? The truth is that no.
I know this is not what people want to hear, but for now, we do not know if people who have been vaccinated will transmit the disease to others.
Why can vaccinated people transmit COVID-19?
COVID-19 vaccines protect against moderate and severe illness, as well as death. Obviously, that is something very important. But what is less clear is whether a vaccinated person can carry the coronavirus (that is, become infected without showing symptoms) and then transmit it to other people.
Most vaccines reduce the transmission of the virus they are designed against. Although we hope this is the case with the COVID vaccine, the truth is that we do not know yet because there has not been enough research to confirm it. Unfortunately, we still can’t have parties without masks and start celebrating.
So unfortunately, you can see family and friends, but you still have to exercise caution. If you are not vaccinated but are seeing your parent or grandparent who is, you will still need to keep your physical distance, wear a mask, and wash your hands frequently. Yes, you can hug them, but then stay away.
The vaccinated person may still be able to infect you. Or, there is also a possibility that you could pass the virus to them, and although they would only get mild illness (or nothing), they could pass it on to someone in their environment who is unvaccinated.
What if they are both vaccinated?
There is a good chance that both of you are fine, with the caveat that you both could infect each other. But we know with a certain degree of certainty that you would not become seriously ill.
Still, new variants of COVID-19, which may be more communicable or cause more serious illness, make it even more important to continue to comply with public health recommendations, despite vaccination.
The key to all of this is achieving herd immunity. If enough people (about 75 to 80 percent of the population) are vaccinated, the virus has little chance of transmission and becomes extinct. That is why it is important that as many people as possible get vaccinated, as quickly as possible.
And don’t worry, there will be a time in the future when we can all let our guard down. Remember that currently available vaccines are 94 to 95 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe disease. It’s certainly a great incentive to get vaccinated, even if you have to keep wearing a mask and distancing yourself socially.
