So far, since fully vaccinated at end of Feb, have had one meal in restaurant and one outdoor dining restaurant experience. Everything else has been takeout of home cooking. Hmmm maybe Easter weekend H and I should dine out outdoors.
Fully vaccinates and my “full immunity day” (i.e. 2 weeks since second dose ) was last Friday.
I’m going out to lunch with my daughter today. She’s also fully vaccinated. We’ll be eating outside and socially distanced, but this will be my first non-take out restaurant meal in over a year!
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Joyce Carol Oates: “New category of unease: not letting anyone know you might be vaccinated because you’ve been so comfortable not being able to see them for nearly a year”… this is where I find myself, not nervous about resuming pre-pandemic life, just into the new routine and it’s fine.
We will see the kids and grandkids as soon as they declare it safe.
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I just got a query from our senior center asking if we are willing to come back and take classes there. The senior director herself is probably not vaccinated…she also didn’t wear a mask indoors when we were there.
I politely told her that I would be happy to come back if she is initiating proper protocol…like mask wearing and social distancing. The CDC currently does not recommend that possibly unvaccinated people from multiple households get together indoors.
Not sure what she is thinking…
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I just booked tickets for my first flight anywhere in over a year. I am going to visit my DD & SIL in NYC in about 6 weeks. I feel definitely buoyed by the latest reports about Pfizer & Moderna being 90% effective at preventing even asymptomatic cases – and my SIL is getting his #1 Moderna tomorrow, so assuming he gets #2 on time, he’ll be 2 weeks out from his 2nd dose just in time for my arrival. DD had Covid (mild case) so not in a rush to get her vaccine, but she will definitely so within the next few weeks. So we’ll be able to have a nice visit & hug each other safely.
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That report is big news and hopefully a gamechanger. So if 75%+ get vaccinated, not only are they protecting themselves against serious illness, they won’t be getting the infection and there fore unable to pass it on to others. If that truly happens, we should be back to relative normal in the fall. Everyone is free to do what they want, but if you don’t get sick and can’t pass it on, the only thing preventing a return to normalcy is fear, something the media has done a nice job of promoting.
I’ll add that we can’t really concern ourselves with not going back to normal to potentially help those that choose not to get vaccinated. That’s their choice. If they contract infection, they’ll deal with it. It certainly won’t be in the massive numbers to crash the healthcare system which was the whole original point of closing things down.
I get my 2nd Pfizer shot today. Wife get’s her 2nd Moderna shot tomorrow. Kids will be fully vaccinated in April. Things are looking up!
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I think we do need to keep in mind that 90% is not 100%. I can get infected when I go to the airport, it’s just highly unlikely. But not impossible… that is still one out of ten who might pick up and transmit Covid.
Even if I did manage to get that unlikely infection, it is extraordinary unlikely that I could pass it on to my vaccinated family members… but the risks would be different if I were planning a visit to an immune-compromised person who could not be vaccinated for health reasons.
I’m still comfortable with masking & social distancing, especially in situations that put me in close contact with large numbers of unrelated people. In booking my flight I figured out early on that the fares that allow for seat selection cost +$40 over the super-cheapo fares – but it’s worth the extra to me to be sure of getting a window seat.
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Seems to me that a good benchmark is the 30K people per year who die in car accidents. That doesn’t stop you driving. About 500K people died from COVID last year. If that’s reduced by >90% after vaccination as current studies seem to indicate, then we are probably at the point where normal life can resume for those who are vaccinated.
And once most people have had the chance to be vaccinated then most of the burden shifts to those who aren’t vaccinated to take precautions, in the same way as more of the burden of a nut allergy falls on those who are allergic rather than those who aren’t (with a few exceptions like not handing out peanuts on a plane).
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Right now, there are many who are not yet eligible to get the vaccine and even when all folks are eligible, they have to be able to score an appointment, get 2nd shot and then wait extra 2 weeks. That sounds like at least another 6+ weeks after everyone who wants a vaccine can get one so folks still do need to hang on and be polite and follow the rules until then to be fair.
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I’ve read several places this week that most people develop a high immunity 2 weeks after the first vaccine and that immunity continues to strengthen over the time to the 2nd shot, to about 85%. The second shot may boost the percentage of immunity to 90% and extend the time that immunity lasts (no one knows right now how long the immunity lasts). Some of the reports are saying not to worry if you can’t get your second vaccine immediately (but to get it when you can). Canada is spacing them out 3-4 months so that everyone can have a first vaccine.
I’m getting my second shot on Sunday and I feel fully immune right now. I still wear a mask (have no choice really as most businesses still require them) and actually enjoy having 6’ of space between me and others so that may never change. The people I spend the most time with outside my bubble are some kids I mentor, ages 4-12, so they won’t be vaccinated for a long time.
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“Feeling immune” is nice but the virus doesn’t particularly care about how we feel. Some of us have conditions and/or bodies that don’t develop as high a level of antibodies from one shot as would b ideal.
IMHO, to be fair to those who are patiently waiting their turn, like my kids and many of my loved ones and folks throughout the community who are waiting for folks who are older, deemed higher priority, luckier, etc to be finished with getting vaccinated so they in their turn can get vaccinated, it seems waiting another few+ weeks and following all public health guidelines seems fairest.
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Waiting for what? I’ve been doing some things all along that many haven’t been (according to what they post here), but I had no choice. I’ve been going to the grocery store, have been to the dentist, have been to the doctor a few times (but also done telemed when possible-- not possible for eye infection or mammogram). I’ve had meals in restaurants and didn’t feel at risk doing that, and did follow all public health guidelines and rules (occupancy limits, wearing wearing masks around the restaurant). I have visited my children during the year and did do my volunteer work that involved visiting with the children I mentor. I’ve met friends outside for walks or coffee. I’ve had my hair cut three times.
I won’t really be doing anything different in the next two weeks, but I feel safe and vaccinated and if I couldn’t get the second vaccine immediately (like Canadians) I’d be okay with it; going from 85% to 90% makes no difference in what I feel safe doing. Since the vaccination really only protects me I only have to worry about myself. I don’t feel unsafe near a J&J vaccinated person even though they may only have 85% immunity at best.
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The larger groups we congregate in, the greater our chances of getting an infection, even if we are vaccinated. If we wait until more folks are vaccinated, the chances of infected folks around and spreading infection are reduced.
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Like a few others have alluded to here - I could stay with the ‘six feet apart in public’ on an ongoing basis. Even masks - I’d be fine with those two things indefinitely, really.
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I thought so, too, but look at this: Inside Medicine. What Are You Seeing? [COVID-19 medical news] - #3057 by ucbalumnus
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Without regard to feeling immune, that’s actually how it works (ignoring actual percentages because that’s not definitive - primarily because that was the basis of the studies). Oldest brother is VERY involved in all of this, analyzing the data, getting drugs approved by the FDA, starting pharma Cos, etc. We were discussing this very point and he provided data analysis (realistically unavailable to mainstream population because you have to know what to look for) that clearly shows the build up of immunity after one dose, the infection rate gap widening between that group and the placebo. Prior to the 2nd dose, there is significant immunity developed. Now you can’t study it past a certain time frame because the vaccine group received the 2nd shot, but within that first 3 to 4 weeks, it was substantial. This is why there was some thought to delaying 2nd shots and expanding the reach of first doses with that supply.
To be clear, the efficacy of Pfizer and Moderna were based on receiving the 2nd dose so the medical community can’t state what would have happened with one dose because it wasn’t tested and proven. However, it’s not binary so they do see trends and have insight into what protection that first dose provides. From the data and the charts showing placebo vs. first shot and tracking it day by day he estimates the one dose to have an efficacy north of 65%. Probably higher.
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I wish everyone around me understood this. I am literally a hair under 50. I am not going to bend or break the rules to get my shot early, but I am going to get my shot on the first day I can even if I have to travel hours to get it.
I am at risk because so many around me are starting to have gatherings, including family. The vaccine euphoria really should wait until a month or so after eligibility is open and availability is plentiful.
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This is from the Danish study @CTTC referenced above (bolding mine to show effectiveness in this study from one dose and after the second dose). I’d be wary counting a first dose as effective, esp the older someone is. Just because we really want something to be true doesn’t mean it is. Watch all data coming out. It’s new.
LTCF = Long term care facility resident average age of 84
HCW = Health care worker average age of 47
Study size is huge with 39,040 LTCF and 331,039 HCW.
“Results A total of 39,040 LTCF residents (median age at first dose; 84 years, Interquartile range (IQR): 77-90) and 331,039 HCW (median age at first dose; 47 years, IQR: 36-57) were included. Among LTCF residents, 95.2% and 86.0% received first and second dose from 27 December 2020 until 18 February 2021, for HWC the proportion was 27.8% and 24.4%. During a median follow-up of 53 days, there were 488 and 5,663 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in the unvaccinated groups, whereas there were 57 and 52 in LTCF residents and HCW within the first 7 days after the second dose and 27 and 10 cases beyond seven days of second dose. No protective effect was observed for LTCF residents after first dose. In HCW, VE was 17% (95% CI; 4-28) in the > 14 days after first dose (before second dose). Furthermore, the VE in LTCF residents at day 0-7 of second dose was 52% (95% CI; 27-69) and 46% (95% CI; 28-59) in HCW. Beyond seven days of second dose, VE increased to 64% (95% CI; 14-84) and 90% (95% CI; 82-95) in the two groups, respectively.”
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I think your reference to “I feel fully immune” is being construed as your are physically feeling immune not mentally feeling immune. We of course don’t physically have an immune feeling. But that’s the way I interpreted your post.
They aren’t testing us after the first dose or the second, or two weeks after the second. Everything is based on the group testing. I don’t know why Americans are showing 80%+ effectiveness of the vaccines 2 weeks after the first dose and old people in Denmark aren’t (different vaccine?), but since I live in America and I’m not 84 years old, I’m going with those results. Yes, it is just my feeling of me personally being safe with 80-85% effectiveness after one vaccine but that’s all it is after two doses and two weeks - personal immunity, not public. Same as other vaccines.
Everyone I’ve spoken to says they feel safe now that they’ve been vaccinated, not that they know they are. Nothing has changed for me going out in public. Everywhere I go has the same rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Still have to have my temp taken, still have to wear a mask, still have to sanitize my hands, still have to stay 6’ away from others. My public actions have to remain the same, so saying to ‘wait’ doesn’t make sense to me. Wait to do what? CDC is still saying NOT to travel, not to go to public gatherings. The only thing they say is safe after vaccination is private gatherings with other vaccinated people and even then, the vaccinated people are only protecting themselves not the others in the room.