Living through a year of this pandemic, there is some glimmer of hope in our near future as now, with the eligibility of group 3 front-line essential workers, many college students are able or have already gotten a dose of a vaccine. I was lucky enough to get my first dose of the Moderna vaccine last Wednesday, and in three weeks’ time, I’ll be getting the second dose. We are reaching the turning point very soon, but this doesn’t mean we should let up on listening to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. So really what does getting fully vaccinated mean at this point?
Besides having extensive protection from COVID-19, it isn’t guaranteed that you will not contract COVID-19 after receiving both doses of a vaccine. Like the flu vaccine, the different COVID-19 vaccines have varying efficacy levels, and they are not 100% effective. This process may all seem counterproductive, but it’s how herd immunity can eventually be achieved, and we can reach some kind of normalcy when the pandemic ends globally. Once you have been fully vaccinated, you can begin to do things you used to do before the pandemic hit.
One thing the CDC has approved is that fully vaccinated individuals can hang out without masks. No, this doesn’t mean the day after you get your second dose that you go party with 50 people. Being fully vaccinated means it’s two weeks after your second dose, or if you have taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, two weeks after your first dose. Even so, if you are exposed to COVID-19 before or after you get your shot, you can still contract it. After those two weeks, you can hang out with other people without masks provided they’ve been fully vaccinated as well.
The CDC still advises fully vaccinated people to avoid large gatherings and continue to wear masks in public. ABC7 interviewed Dr. Umber Chohan, an infectious disease specialist, to find out more about the implications of being double dosed. As she was asked about immunity from COVID-19, Dr. Chohan says many scientists do not know how long immunity lasts. This isn’t to instill fear, but it expresses that there is still much to find out about the effect of the vaccine and how it will affect the reopening of the world. Dr. Chohan also advises against traveling unless absolutely necessary and emphasizes the importance of continuing to use masks and social distance.
Even though the CDC is providing lots of caution about after being fully vaccinated, I feel that I am okay with the slow regaining of normalcy that we had pre-COVID-19. Before the coronavirus hit, I felt I took a lot of simple things for granted. I also realized that people are generally really gross, and pre-COVID-19 life was also kind of gross. I’m still gonna actively use hand sanitizer all the time and mask up when I’m feeling sick. I am ecstatic for more and more people to get double vaccinated and to be able to start hanging out with more people (obviously safely and provided they’re vaccinated too).
NC State students, I am looking at you when I say that even if you’re vaccinated, please do not act recklessly. This vaccine was designed to help us all, but if we start acting like the pandemic is over, we will only dig ourselves a deeper hole. It is absolutely critical that if you’re going to physically meet people, you should all be fully vaccinated. If we all continue to listen to the CDC’s guidelines, the pandemic will soon be a thing of the past.
