The way I see it, the reasons to wear a mask (and reasons that places like health care facilities may want to require mask wearing) would be:
To protect others from any contagion you exhale. After COVID-19 vaccination, the chance of that is very low for COVID-19, although wearing a mask could help against spreading of other airborne contagions (note that health care facilities attract sick people, some of whom are likely to be contagious, not necessarily of COVID-19). Also, when around medically vulnerable people (who may be found in increased concentrations in health care facilities), mitigation of even that low risk of spreading COVID-19 (or anything else you may have been vaccinated for) may be desirable.
To be polite when closely approaching others who have not yet had a chance to get fully vaccinated (which is why I wrote āsix weeks since vaccines were easy to get by all peopleā) and cannot reliably know whether you are vaccinated (due to lack of honor in the honor system of āmasks not required if vaccinatedā). Because most areas are now approaching the six week (based on the slowest Moderna timeline) mark after easy availability of vaccine for adults, this is becoming less of a concern when approaching unknown adults (the voluntarily unvaccinated presumably are willing to play COVID-19 lottery with themselves), but may still be a concern when approaching unknown children (who do not yet have a choice, although their chance of a big negative lottery prize is lower).
For self-protection by those who are especially COVID-19 paranoid, including those who are medically vulnerable (e.g. immunocompromised so that they develop less or no immunity from vaccination, pre-existing lung issues, etc.). Such people may want to change their mask choice to emphasize self-protection over protection of others (e.g. N95 masks with outlet valves that were frowned upon before are more desirable now in this context).
Iāve seen parents wearing masks when they are with their children, who canāt be vaccinated yet so still are required to wear masks. Today on my Next Door page a mother was asking for which salons still require masks so she could take her young daughter. Since the state supervising agency no longer requires beauty shops or nail salons to require them, no one is. Many of THEM are still wearing masks, but not the customers.
My daughter works at a Starbucks and, at least at her store, the employees donāt have to wear masks after July 5 if they are vaccinated.
Masks are also required on public transportation, and I think some Lyft and Uber systems still require them. I was at a vacation resort and was surprised the Trolley system had signs saying they were still required. I think any transportation system that gets federal funds still require them.
I flew, and Iād say if you donāt feel safe with just your own vaccinations protecting you, DONāT FLY. The concourses and waiting areas are packed, the flights are packed, the lines for food are packed. Baggage pick up is a free for all. Yes, masks are required but there were a lot of announcements reminding people to put their masks back on, to keep a distance (6ā? Right, sometimes not 6 inches).
Those of us on Team Pfizer ought to stay on top of the studies to see when a booster gets recommended. This is a report from Israel seeing a decline in effectiveness against the Delta variant. Fortunately, protection against bad cases seems to be holding:
Those studies which are ongoing ( my daughter , a nurse .is part of one. Sheās sending in blood samples every 3.5 weeks) will be blared in the media when they come out. I donāt think one will need to do much to ā stay on top if itā. As a preliminary matter theyāve been told that the antibody levels are holding strong. But no even preprint yet on these.
As far as I know, any version of US-available COVID-19 vaccine specifically targeting the newer variants is still in trials. The generally available vaccines are the ones targeted to earlier variants (probably B.1 or the ancestral one before that).
I know this thread has had very little activity but my S finally got a JnJ vaccine on Friday, felt the usual headaches, aches, friday night/sat. Felt better yesterday and today said that his lower back really hurts and every so often his chest āfeels funnyā, and the headache is back. We tested and he is negative. (yeah for home tests). Did anyone or their C who got JnJ have side affects that came and went and were not typical?
he really really did not want to get vaccinated and now this.
A young male friend of the family who got vaccinated with Pfizer a week or so ago also had chest and back pain on the side of the body of the arm he was vaccinated on. So I think that can be a normal side effect. Like you, I would be concerned more with how it went away and came back. Checking with a doctor couldnāt hurt. I wish you both well.
my brother had J&J, and he was sick with flu like chills and aches for 2 days afterward. He had traveled to Thailand in Dec 2019 and came home very sick with a respiratory illness. At the time, there was no testing for covid or really any talk about it, but heās always suspected he had it.
My nephew had covid in Jan 2021 and was able to be vaccinated in May/June (heās 15 so had to wait for the approval for teens). I asked him about side effects and he said with the first shot he felt a little bad for a day or two but not terrible. For the second shot, he felt like he had covid again for 3 days with the fever and chills. I also asked if the vaccinations helped him get over any of the long term symptoms still hanging around. He said yes with the exception of the taste and smell, that are still a little āoff.ā He was also diagnosed with chronic migraines during this time, but he doesnāt think they are covid related (I do). Heās also got a hypochondriac for a mother and heās a little bit of one too so every ache and twinge is blown up.
We know to see a Dr if things continue. This morning he is just saying that he only has the lower back pain (kidneys?). If he comes home from work with the issue we will be seeing urgent care. The question is if anyone whose C or themselves have gotten the JnJ had seen this. It took me 3 months to convince him to get the V due to his safety concerns over it. I would hate for him to be one of the āone in a millionā
Does your insurance have a nurse hotline? Give them a call and just ask some questions, give them a concise summary of what he is feeling. Better to ask a professional who is dealing with vaccine side effects on a regular basis than a group of message board people - I mean, honestly talk to 100 people, get 100 answers right?!
I agree with the others to at least maybe call your doctor. Both of my boys, ages 18 and 20, had J&J. One was totally fine afterwards. The other did not experience anything like yours. He did have pretty bad flu symptoms for 24 hours the day after - fever, cough, headache. No chest pains or anything like that.
This would be my fear too, and why I wonāt coerce my children into getting a vaccine they do not want. Where there is risk, there should be a choice.
I hope your sonās issues resolve themselves quickly. Chances are they will!
There is also something called āhypervigilanceā among people who are fearful of a particular condition or who in general have anxiety about illness. I would of COURSE get him checked out, but if all is clear, itās possible that because he worried about side effects so much, he is ultra sensitive to bodily sensations. Iām not saying he is making them up or that he is imagining things, just that hypervigilance can cause a person to perceive minor sensations with greater discomfort and anxiety than someone who isnāt at all worried about them.