The emergence of vaccines for Covid-19 has received massive acceptance all over the world. People have anticipated it for a very long time and the emergence has brought hope to people. We all want to do away with the item we were forced to adapt to protect ourselves from the virus, the face masks, but the question is, when is life going back to normal and does the emergence of vaccines mean face masks shouldn’t be worn again?
Reasons to still wear a face mask after you have been vaccinated
The excitement of getting vaccinated against Covid-19 comes with the obvious urge to do away with face masks for good. However, health experts have opined that the usage of masks should continue for a little while, especially in public settings, at least until we achieve herd immunity.
Herd immunity, also known as community immunity, means that a large population of people in an area are immune to a specific disease. When this happens, the disease cannot be easily transmitted, since most people are immune to it and so infection rates drop as the disease peters out. To reach herd immunity, about 50%-80% of a population needs to be vaccinated, and for Covid-19, this might take a while. While the emergence of vaccines is a massive step in the right direction, it is advisable to exercise a little more patience before doing away with masks.
Indeed, various reasons push health professionals to declare that face masks should be worn after vaccination.
Time is required before the vaccine kicks in
The vaccine does not fully kick in until two weeks after taking your second dose. After the first dose, you get some level of immune response, but this does not mean you are instantly protected from the virus.
It takes some time before you can be termed “fully vaccinated” which means you still have to wear your mask.
Vaccinated people may be asymptomatic spreaders
It has been established that the vaccines prevent illness, but there is uncertainty as to whether they also prevent the transmission. Experts are worried that vaccinated people can get infected again without showing symptoms, and infect others who have not been vaccinated.
Based on this, vaccinated people need to continue to wear their face masks to reduce virus transmissions to others.
The vaccines do not offer 100% protection
Although the vaccines have proven to be very effective, they offer between 94% – 95% protection. This means there are some people out there who do not respond to the vaccines and are still at risk of being infected.
Those with compromised immune systems need to be protected
Those with underlying health conditions react severely to Covid-19 and they need to be protected. The degree of effectiveness of the vaccines on such people has not been fully established. Thus, they need to be protected.
Also, there are certain people who react negatively to certain ingredients in the vaccines, this means they can’t get them. Such people also need to be protected.
There are still limited doses compared to those who need them
This means that there are still a lot of people yet to be vaccinated. Surely, we can’t do away with the masks as though the virus were in extinction. We still need to be careful and safe in our daily lives.
How to continue to protect yourself
Seeing that vaccination does not automatically translate to doing away with face masks, we have a responsibility to continually protect ourselves.
This protection is nothing different from what you did before the vaccines came on board:
- Ensure you have your masks and your face shields on in public places.
- Continually maintain social distancing.
- Wash your hands as frequently as possible.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth as much as you can (especially when you do not remember where your hands have been).
Things may start to change when more people are vaccinated and when fewer cases are discovered, but until then you still have to stay safe and cautious.