Vaccination FAQ

by Elizabeth Morse Read

The year 2020 was the deadliest in American history. At the terrifying peak of the pandemic, people over 60 years old represented 80% of total COVID-19 deaths,wiping out almost an entire generation of beloved elders, mentors, and cultural icons. Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt.

Miraculously, just one year after the world went into lockdown, US COVID-related hospitalization and death rates started dropping, vaccination rates went into overdrive, and public health and government officials started offering concrete messages of hope for a long-suffering population.

By mid-March, one hundred million vaccinations had been administered, with the promise that all Americans over 16 years old who want a vaccination will be able to get one by the end of May – and by April 19 here on the South Coast.

But these life-saving vaccines will be in a race against new variant strains of the virus, vaccine hesitancy within certain US populations, and public health safeguards like mask-wearing being dropped prematurely in certain parts of the country. The elusive goal of herd immunity will slip farther away again if we are faced with another surge of infections. We must keep our eyes on the prize of herd immunity until the virus is defeated.

Mother-and-child reunions

Long-separated families and friends now have a glimpse of what life will be like post-pandemic. In early March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its first guidelines for Americans who were fully vaccinated – the first time we were advised on what we could do, instead of what we could not do, as has been the case since the pandemic swept across the globe. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their last vaccination – for example, after the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

This is cause for relief for long-separated families and others suffering from a year of pandemic isolation. Vaccinated older adults can now visit indoors and unmasked with their unvaccinated adult children and grandchildren under certain circumstances, and vaccinated friends can now enjoy maskless indoor dinners with each other. But best of all, seeing as more than 70% of nursing home residents have now been vaccinated, they can now receive visitors, after a long year of isolation and loneliness.

So why shouldn’t we fly?

At first, the CDC did not ease up on air travel restrictions, which seemed to throw a wet blanket on plans for long-distance family reunions. But there was good reason for the initial hesitancy – the announcement was made on the cusp of Spring Break, when rowdy (and maskless) college partiers crowd southern beaches and fuel super-spreader infection outbreaks when they fly back to campuses across the country. Additionally, the new variant viruses from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, which are much more contagious and potentially more lethal, had become more detectable across the US.

Vaccinated older adults can now visit indoors and unmasked with their unvaccinated adult children and grandchildren under certain circumstances

The CDC projects that by the end of April, the highlycontagious UK variant of the virus will become the predominant strain in the United States. That’s why it’s imperative to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, to avoid another surge of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths triggered by irresponsible behaviors and anti-vaccine misinformation.

Not wanting to possibly ignite a new surge in COVID-19 infection rates by encouraging excited grandparents to hop on the next flight to visit grandchildren cross-country, the CDC said that as vaccination rates continue to rise and hospitalizations and death rates continue to drop, they will be offering more relaxed guidance on both domestic and international air travel. So, start local and get comfortable with being maskless indoors with family and friends again. So far, most states will allow vaccinated people to cross state lines without testing or quarantining.

What you can do again – and what to avoid

Fully vaccinated people can meet indoors without wearing a mask with unvaccinated people who are at low risk of becoming infected, such as your work-at-home daughter and her children who are being schooled remotely. Fully vaccinated people no longer need to quarantine or get tested immediately if they are exposed to the virus unless they develop symptoms. But they shouldn’t take their masks off when out in public, whether indoors or out, because of the slight chance that they could still become infected with a variant virus and spread it to unvaccinated people.

Fully vaccinated people should still wear a mask and keep socially distant when out in public or when visiting an unvaccinated person who’s at risk of severe illness or death if they were to become infected. This could be an elderly aunt who hasn’t yet been vaccinated or perhaps a younger cousin who’s undergoing chemotherapy. The same restriction applies when visiting an unvaccinated person who lives with a vulnerable person, or when indoors with unvaccinated people from multiple households (like at church). It’s better to hold such gatherings outdoors, and continue to wear masks and maintain a six-foot distance until CDC guidelines make different recommendations.

What we don’t know for sure

Scientists still do not know whether a fully vaccinated person could become infected with a new variant of the virus – a “breakthrough” infection – and thereby inadvertently infect unvaccinated people around them. They also are not sure exactly how long immunity lasts after vaccination or whether a particular vaccine’s immunity lasts longer than another vaccine’s immunity.

As talk of herd immunity becomes more urgent, the “guesstimate” of how many Americans were undiagnosed/ asymptomatic carriers of the COVID-19 virus becomes more crucial. Best bets have been that at least 10% of the US population had been infected but never knew it. Yet, recent data from the Red Cross indicates that one in five blood donations – 20% – contains tell-tale antigens for COVID- 19. Also, scientists still don‘t know how strong the immune response is for people who were previously infected, nor are they sure how long this less-than-robust immunity lasts, which is why survivors are advised to still get vaccinated after they’ve recovered.

So, what happens next?

The Biden administration aims to produce and ship enough doses of COVID-19 vaccines by early May for every American adult to be fully vaccinated, but we need to remain vigilant until we approach herd immunity, when 70-85% of all Americans are immune to the virus, whether by vaccination or previous infection. Only then will we be able to start living a more “normal” life than we have for the past year. Anyone over 16 years of age in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be eligible for the vaccinations starting on April 19 – and clinical trials have already started for children from infancy to age 15.

In the meantime, community, health, business, and faith leaders must do what they can to help overcome vaccine hesitancy, encouraging their followers, colleagues, and neighbors to do their part for the greater good as well as for themselves – get vaccinated. The sooner we reach herd immunity, the sooner children will be able to go back to school full time, parents will be able to go back to work, local businesses will be able to reopen fully and the national economy will be able to recover.

Immunity Passports?

Already, a potential civil liberties conflict is brewing – will governments, employers, schools, merchants, entertainment venues, or entire industries have the right to insist you show proof of vaccination before you can enter their premises? There are no hard and fast answers yet, but here’s what we know so far.

When you get your first shot (whether of a one-dose or a two-dose vaccine), you’ll be given a dated CDC wallet card that records the specific vaccine you’ve received and a reminder (if needed) of when to get your second shot. It is not an official government document, but, like wearing a mask or having your temperature taken at the door, it may gain you entry to some establishments until herd immunity is definitely reached.

Walmart pharmacies may soon provide health passport apps for people’s smartphones verifying that the customer received their vaccination, which might make it easier for them in the future to board a plane, take a cruise, or enter a sports stadium.

Personal immunity “passports” will be created in the future when the CDC is far more certain about how well COVID-19 vaccines work, how long immunity lasts, etc., and would be used primarily to allow someone to travel internationally. It could take the form of a physical card, a mobile app, a QR code or a sticker on a passport.

It’s already standard practice for American travelers to provide proof of immunization against specific diseases (e.g., polio) before entering countries where outbreaks are active. Already, the European Union is working on “digital green certificates” that would allow residents of EU countries to travel freely within the bloc showing proof of vaccination, recent negative test result, or documented recovery from the virus.

Elizabeth Morse Read is an award-winning writer, editor and artist who grew up on the South Coast. After 20 years of working in New York City and traveling the world, she came back home with her children and lives in Fairhaven.