With 11 percent of eligible Wisconsinites having been vaccinated against the coronavirus, and another 9.4 percent awaiting their second dose, we’re seeing more and more Facebook posts by grandparents looking forward to being able to hug their loved ones again.
That’s understandable, since it’s been a full year since the Fort Atkinson area went on lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Thus far, people age 65 and up have been able to sign up for the shot, and now many have been vaccinated. Soon, more folks will become eligible for the shot.
The Centers for Disease Control considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after his or her second dose in a two-dose series, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
In other words, if it has been fewer than two weeks since your shot, or if you still need to get your second dose, you are not fully protected from this potentially deadly virus. So, keep taking all preventative steps until you are fully vaccinated.
Then when you are, the CDC says, you can engage in some social situations. These include:
• Visiting with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• Visiting with unvaccinated people from a single household who are all at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease, indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• Not having to quarantine and test following a known exposure, if not experiencing symptoms.
However, if you live in a group setting (like a group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
The CDC also advises that when out in public spaces, fully vaccinated people still should wear a mask and physically distance from others. They also should do so when visiting unvaccinated people who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
That’s because even vaccinated people still might carry enough virus in the nose to infect others. So if a vaccinated person breathes or sneezes, he or she could infect someone else, even if the person feels fine.
Bottom line: If you are among the fortunate 20 percent who have been or soon will be fully vaccinated, you still have a duty to respect those around you who aren’t. For their comfort and reassurance, and especially their health, please continue to mask up.
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