Post Vaccination Behavior

[MuirWannabe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R You don't want to hear it! Oh well, here it is: We have been told here that after being vaccinated, we still need to follow ALL the same masking and social distancing required of everyone else. Also there are the new variants of COVID to think about. So, no changes in behavior are accepted or allowed after vaccination. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/d...-for-covid-19/

I’ve no doubt that you’re hearing these things said.

But I’m gonna call bull on it. The social distancing part, not the mask part. If you’ve been vaccinated and want to be around others who have also been vaccinated, then have at it. Don’t even need a mask. If you want to be around others that haven’t been vaccinated then wear the mask.

But if being vaccinated doesn’t free us up to begin some return to social normalcy then to heck with it. I’ve come to believe some folks must just love being isolated. Good for them I guess. Not me. Restaurants, airplanes, church services, etc. They are all back in play.

The variants you say. Well, I haven’t heard of any that the vaccines don’t already protect against. Maybe at a slightly lower level. But still, the vaccine is effective.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but just how much control and just how long do those in power want it? Ahhhhh, I feel better now [emoji4]

[disneysteve]

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Originally Posted by harllee There is a group 12 of us, all in early 70s (except me I am "only" 69) and we have all had our second vaccine shot this week (YAH!). Dr Fauci has said that socializing without masks is OK if everyone is fully vaccinated. We were all thinking that in a couple of weeks we could have a get together in one of our homes for the fully vaccinated group. We would probably still wear masks except when eating/drinking but we would not be 6 feet apart. What do people think about that?

This is a great question, and the answer is we really don't know the answer yet.


We do know that the vaccine is about 95% effective, so in a group of 12, there's a decent chance that 1 of the 12 might not have gained immunity from their vaccine.


We also don't yet know if vaccinated individuals can still carry the disease and transmit it to others. If so, even if the 12 of you don't get sick, you could still get someone else sick.


I hate being isolated. I hate that the last time we were inside a restaurant was March 6, 2020. I hate that the last night we spent in a hotel was February 8, 2020. We miss our friends and families. Zoom is nice but hugs are better.


I can tell you that at my job (I'm an urgent care physician) we just had a patient who was fully vaccinated and a couple weeks later, her spouse got Covid and then she did. So no matter what you do, the risk isn't zero. You just all have to decide if it's a risk you're comfortable taking.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by MuirWannabe [...]But if being vaccinated doesn’t free us up to begin some return to social normalcy then to heck with it. I’ve come to believe some folks must just love being isolated. Good for them I guess. Not me. Restaurants, airplanes, church services, etc. They are all back in play. The variants you say. Well, I haven’t heard of any that the vaccines don’t already protect against. Maybe at a slightly lower level. But still, the vaccine is effective. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but just how much control and just how long do those in power want it? Ahhhhh, I feel better now [emoji4]

I completely agree with you, 100%. Or perhaps 200%. I haven't had the vaccine and don't know if/when I will do that.

I am just reporting what we are told. Remember, Harliiee won't even dine in at a well ventilated, nearly empty restaurant so she has chosen to be extremely cautious all this time. I, on the other hand, have been less cautious about restaurants, dining in at a relatively safely run restaurant nearly every day since local restaurants re-opened (~251 out of the past 273 days dining in, plus take-out often when we didn't dine in). How many years do we have left to live? How much does dining out mean to us? These are factors too.

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Originally Posted by disneysteve I can tell you that at my job (I'm an urgent care physician) we just had a patient who was fully vaccinated and a couple weeks later, her spouse got Covid and then she did. So no matter what you do, the risk isn't zero. You just all have to decide if it's a risk you're comfortable taking.

+1

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneysteve I can tell you that at my job (I'm an urgent care physician) we just had a patient who was fully vaccinated and a couple weeks later, her spouse got Covid and then she did. So no matter what you do, the risk isn't zero. You just all have to decide if it's a risk you're comfortable taking.

Did they get a bad case or a mild/asymptomatic case?

[disneysteve]

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Originally Posted by explanade Did they get a bad case or a mild/asymptomatic case?

I don't know as I wasn't involved in the case.


The point relative to the earlier comment, though, is that she did get COVID, which means she could spread it to others even though she thought she was safe because she was vaccinated.


We really need a large portion of the population to be vaccinated. Right now only about 3.5% of Americans have had both doses. That's a good start but it's really not enough to matter in slowing the spread yet. But about 1.5 million doses per day are being given in the US so it's just a matter of time before there is widespread protection.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by explanade Did they get a bad case or a mild/asymptomatic case?

According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health),

Quote:

More than 80 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases are not severe.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/8677/
So, that gives you a rough idea of the chances among the unvaccinated.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by W2R https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/8677/ So, that gives you a rough idea of the chances among the unvaccinated.

That article was from Feb of 2020 when we knew much, much less about COVID than we do now (NIH reported from a China study?) and had just the very first reported cases in the US! It also turned out that risks of severe COVID disease and chances of dying were were vastly different depending on age group or certain chronic medical issues.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 That article was from Feb of 2020 when we knew much, much less about COVID than we do now. It also turned out that risks of severe COVID disease and chances of dying were were vastly different depending on age group or certain chronic medical issues.

So please, tell us the new percentages among the general public now, and provide a link/reference? I am too lazy to search on it again. But if that article isn't good enough to suit you, I'm sure you would be more than happy to provide one that is.

[garyt]

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Originally Posted by disneysteve We won't be at herd immunity levels yet because we need a pediatric vaccine for that to happen, but even 50% would be a huge improvement.

We won't be at herd immunity even if 100% of people are vaccinated IF some of the experts are right and the vaccine doesn't stop the new variants. We could be back to square one.

[Chuckanut]

Local authorities say that after vaccination is complete I can hug the grands again. It’s even pretty safe two weeks after the first shot. So they say.

I will hug the grandkids Get a haircut, see the dentist, etc. But, crowded theaters, arenas, restaurants, busses, planes, trains etc. will wait until we get into the 70% vaccinated range.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by W2R So please, tell us the new percentages among the general public now, and provide a link/reference? I am too lazy to search on it again. But if that article isn't good enough to suit you, I'm sure you would be more than happy to provide one that is.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...er-adults.html

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Age Increases Risk for Hospitalization Older adults are at greater risk of requiring hospitalization or dying if they are diagnosed with COVID-19. As you get older, your risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19 increases. 8 out of 10 deaths from COVID-19 reported in the US have been in adults 65 and older.

The risk of hospitalization and death breakdown by age group is given in the CDC bulletin.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...er-adults.html The risk of hospitalization and death breakdown by age group is given in the CDC bulletin.

So, since we don't know the ages of the patients, what is the new, updated percentage of all COVID patients that have severe cases? That would be the relevant statistic I would think. Thank you.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by W2R So, since we don't know the ages of the patients, what is the new, updated percentage of all COVID patients that have severe cases? That would be the relevant statistic I would think. Thank you.

The overall percentage isn’t useful, because risks of bad outcomes are very dependent on your age and health. If people are trying to evaluate their personal risk, they need to look at their age and health cohort.

Probably why we don’t see overall percentages mentioned these days.

[USGrant1962]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R You don't want to hear it! Oh well, here it is: We have been told here that after being vaccinated, we still need to follow ALL the same masking and social distancing required of everyone else. Also there are the new variants of COVID to think about. So, no changes in behavior are accepted or allowed after vaccination. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/d...-for-covid-19/

I know you are just reporting what others have said, but I am not a fan of the "surrender to the virus FOREVER" mentality that is out there.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee There is a group 12 of us, all in early 70s (except me I am "only" 69) and we have all had our second vaccine shot this week (YAH!). Dr Fauci has said that socializing without masks is OK if everyone is fully vaccinated. We were all thinking that in a couple of weeks we could have a get together in one of our homes for the fully vaccinated group. We would probably still wear masks except when eating/drinking but we would not be 6 feet apart. What do people think about that?

Personally, I think it is a close call. I have had one shot and will get the second in a couple of weeks. I have a close friend and everyone in her house (3 people) have been vaccinated. I am pretty comfortable going to visit her once I am 2 weeks past full vaccination. We would likely not mask but would distance. I could even see DH and I going over there and having dinner with her and her husband. They plan to still be careful about going out (they might go shopping in a store more than they did in the past) and we don't go out either. Again, once fully vaccinated we might go into the grocery store occasionally instead of doing curbside.

But - for me - 12 people (even if fully vaccinated) right now is probably more than I feel comfortable with. But, as the amount of virus circulating in my locale (it is still very high) comes down then I will change my mind.

One thing I thing many miss in that article W2R quoted from is that the recommendation to continuing to mask up, social distance, not just go anywhere is not intended to be permanent. The two main things they are wanting is to wait a bit until tranmission levels in your area have gone done and there is less virus circulating and, also, they may soon have more information about how much the virus protects against transmission and against new variants.

So even fully vaccinated my own approach is to still be cautious about going out. That is -- I would go inside a grocery store (masked), but not indoor dining. But, in a few months then indoor dining may be fine. Also, I will do some socializing with fully vaccinated people but I probably wouldn't do 12 right now, but might in a few months.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by USGrant1962 I know you are just reporting what others have said, but I am not a fan of the "surrender to the virus FOREVER" mentality that is out there.

Me, either. We're getting a lot of weird input about this virus. You're right, I am just reporting what local authorities have told us and trying not to inject my own, very skeptical opinions. I do what they say but I am conflicted.

[FIREd]

My elderly aunts and uncles have been vaccinated and I was able to visit them for the first time in a year. We still maintained social distancing during the visit, but at least they let people inside their home now. So there is progress.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by FIREd My elderly aunts and uncles have been vaccinated and I was able to visit them for the first time in a year. We still maintained social distancing during the visit, but at least they let people inside their home now. So there is progress.

Great news, really!

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...er-adults.html The risk of hospitalization and death breakdown by age group is given in the CDC bulletin.

That was an excellent link and eye opening table. Thank you so much for taking the time to find it and post it!

[harllee]

Thanks for all the good advice regarding my 12 friends getting together in 2 weeks after our 2nd vaccine doses. I will suggest to my friends that we try to find a warm day to have an outdoor picnic at a local park where we can social distance and wear masks. If the weather does not cooperate maybe we can break up in smaller groups of 4-6 and meet inside at someone's house where we can mask and social distance.

I also plan to visit my 90 year old mother (she has had both vaccines and is past the 2 weeks) once we are past the 2 weeks. I will see her in her apartment. I will social distance and wear masks with my mother. I had been meeting with her outside but its is just too cold outside for her now. Seeing my mother is very very important to both of us so we will take the risk on that.

As for restaurants, we will just continue carry out for now.