• The latest CDC guidance relaxes the requirement to wear a mask for people who are fully immunized.
• However, it is still important to wear a mask in certain higher-risk situations.
• Continuing to wear masks helps protect those around us and ourselves.

According to the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if you are fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, you can continue many activities that you could not previously do. safe way.

However, there are still situations where you need to wear a mask.

Here’s what you need to know about when, where, and why you need to keep wearing a mask.

Who is considered fully immunized?

To know if you are fully immunized, it is important to know which vaccines you have received.

For vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, if two doses are given, you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after the second dose.

For Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, a single dose is required and you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after receiving that dose.

Until you complete the mandatory 2-week waiting period, you will not be considered fully immunized and must continue to follow all precautions, including wearing a mask.

It is also important to note that, if you have any health conditions or are taking any medication that weakens your immune system, you will not be considered fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. In this case, you need to continue to wear a mask in all situations.

Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if you fit this description.

When and where should you wear a mask?

According to Dr. S. Wesley Long, a researcher at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, whenever you’re in public, with people whose immunization status you don’t know about, you should wear a mask.

If you are in a crowded or crowded area, it is also a good idea to wear a mask.

“Although most data suggest that vaccinated people are unlikely to transmit the virus if infected, if you are with people who are at high risk or are immunocompromised, you are better off. should wear masks to help protect them,” Long said.

As for the specific locations where you should continue to wear a mask, Long said it’s basically any indoor environment where you’re around people who may not be vaccinated or who aren’t in the house. your own home, especially if physical distancing is not possible.

Work, schools, airplanes, restaurants, grocery stores or other retail establishments are all examples of places where you want to continue wearing a mask, Long said.

Why should you continue to wear a mask?

Dr Shruti Gohil, MPH, an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine in the Division of Infection, Faculty of Medicine, UCI School of Medicine, said, “The larger public health goal is to limit the spread of transmission. infection at the population level. “

Vaccination is one of the strategies to achieve this goal, she said.

However, until community transmission is low enough, we must all continue to wear masks indoors.

While this may seem counter-intuitive, given that a vaccinated individual is well protected, Gohil said there are good reasons why people should continue to wear masks.

First, she explains, there’s a small chance, about 4 to 5 percent, that a vaccinated person can still get sick and can pass the virus on to others.

Second, there is no way to know immediately who is fully vaccinated. If we relax the mask wearing criteria for some people but not others, this can become very confusing and lead to unvaccinated people thinking they don’t need to wear masks anymore, she speaks. There is a simple rule to follow that will protect the community at large.

“I have no doubt that when popularity becomes low enough, mask requirements will be relaxed,” she added. “The CDC has relaxed the criteria for people being vaccinated so that people can congregate with vaccinated people without wearing a mask.”

Last words

Although the CDC has relaxed its recommendations on wearing a mask for people who are fully immunized, it’s still important that you wear a mask to protect those around you.

You should continue to wear a mask in indoor locations, crowded areas, and places where there are people outside your household whose immunization status is unknown to you.

You should also wear a mask if you are in frequent contact with high-risk or immunocompromised people.

Experts say wearing a mask is still important, even after being vaccinated, until the prevalence of the disease has been significantly reduced.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/im-fully-vaccinated-when-where-and-why-should-i-still-mask-up#The-bottom-line

Translator: Bao Ngan

The article is self-translated and edited by ykhoa.org – Please do not reup without permission!