It may be tempting to drop your COVID-19 precautions after you get immunized, but please don’t -- at least until community levels of the virus decrease. Instead, consider the vaccine one more layer of protection -- alongside masking, crowd avoidance, and frequent handwashing.
No vaccine is 100% effective, and it takes weeks for the COVID-19 vaccine to build up immunity in the body, so even if you’re fully vaccinated, you could still get sick, explains virologist and pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit, who advises the FDA on vaccines.
Also, scientists don’t yet know whether a vaccinated person can pass the virus onto others. You could be asymptomatic but still shed virus, he notes.
It’s a hard time to be a human. Living under the cloud of a pandemic for months on end is stressful, and the continuing surge in COVID-19 deaths, along with riots at the U.S. Capitol, have only added stress to an already combustible new year, says New York psychiatrist Dr. Rachelle Scott of Eden Health.
If you’re the type who usually makes audacious New Year’s resolutions -- like vowing to lose 20 pounds, or exercise every day -- you may be setting yourself up for failure.
Scott suggests we go easier on ourselves this year -- just getting up and showering is enough some days.
If you do want to tackle some big goals, break them down into smaller pieces, Scott and other mental health specialists advise. And remember that sometimes the journey is more rewarding than the result.
While hundreds of thousands of Americans are lining up to get the vaccine, at least 25% are hesitant about getting it, according to a December poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It's pretty likely you have a friend or family member among them.
So how do you broach the subject?
Start with empathy and humility, says Nadine Gartner, the founder and executive director of Boost Oregon, a nonprofit focused on educating parents about the safety of childhood immunizations.
Don’t judge or make assumptions -- ask and listen deeply. Find out the specific reasons they are worried, then offer credible, science-based information about what’s known and not, as well as suggestions on where to go for more information.
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