Yesterday my husband Jason and I celebrated reaching full immunity (second dose + 14 days). Time to relax and revel in the joys only safety can provide.
🥰 Vaxxed? Relax!
Science says that if you’re vaccinated, you’re safe. You are even safer if you’re surrounded by people who are vaccinated. This means you can take off your mask (see below) and resume activities that would’ve been no-nos even a month ago (like going to a theatre).
For some reason, though, I’ve noticed all around me vaccinated people who’ve resisted this good news. Vaccinated people who will still stand six feet apart, despite the breeze, from other people. Vaccinated people who just won’t quit masks or even respirators (!) outdoors, which the CDC says is safe to do on your own or with the people you live with, even if you’re unvaxxed. I’ll repeat this ad nauseam: the risk outdoors is divided by 20 compared to indoors, so masks were never all that useful outdoors and we knew this pretty early on, so the only reason to wear masks outdoors was social signalling — which has its own utility!
I placed this squarely on lingering anxiety. New York City went through hell last spring, and people here wised up right quick, which is part of the reason we were able to exist with each other all winter with relatively mild restrictions. Masks outdoors became a sign of solidarity. But I heard stories of this elsewhere, places that were luckier on the death count front. And it had also occurred to me that this was somewhat more pronounced amongst those who’d maybe argued with family and friends about the importance of precautions, and others who’d maybe advocated openly for strict measures online.
Yesterday The Atlantic ran a piece titled “The Liberals Who Can’t Quit Lockdown.” I’m usually not a fan of these hot takes, and this particular one quotes people who agitated for reopening schools without emphasising precautions, but it did put words on something I was feeling:
Policy makers’ decisions about how to fight the pandemic are fraught because they have such an impact on people’s lives. But personal decisions during the coronavirus crisis are fraught because they seem symbolic of people’s broader value systems. When vaccinated adults refuse to see friends indoors, they’re working through the trauma of the past year, in which the brokenness of America’s medical system was so evident. When they keep their kids out of playgrounds and urge friends to stay distanced at small outdoor picnics, they are continuing the spirit of the past year, when civic duty has been expressed through lonely asceticism. For many people, this kind of behavior is a form of good citizenship. That’s a hard idea to give up.
So let’s just stand in front of our mirrors and tell ourselves: if you’re vaccinated, you can travel, date and sleep with new people, dine and hang out with your friends indoors (see the science on this in the next section). Accepting the shot has made you a good citizen. Our identities needn’t hang on how well we follow rules that our immunisation status has made obsolete. We are allowed to breathe and live, and this needn’t upend our sense of self.
There are caveats, obviously. If you care for someone who can’t be immunised yet, there are things you still need to think about. I’m a parent. My kids are six. As I said, until they’ve reached fully immunity, we won’t be taking them on planes or to areas of the world that don’t have a handle on the pandemic. But we will continue to visit with their friends, outdoors, without freaking out, as we have this whole time. And we’ll be having our (vaxxed) adult friends over, maskless and indoors!
How to use this: don’t worry about what others are doing. Don’t let this be a reason to stay anxious, or to stoke your own outrage (remember those are addictive). If science is real, science is real! And science says relax.
🎊 New CDC guidance if you’re fully immunised!
Yesterday was new guidance day! Before anyone accuses me of U.S.-centrism, the Centers for Disease Control set the tone for far beyond U.S. borders, so if you’re fully vaccinated elsewhere in the world, my guess is the authorities where you are will adjust soon. Here’s what you can expect, everyone:
It’s no wonder. In real-life conditions (observational study in Israel, another one from the Mayo Clinic, another one from England), the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have proved to reduce asymptomatic infections by 85-90% seven days or more after the second dose. Not just severe illness, mind you. Asymptomatic infections. Which means, you guessed it, transmission 🎉 !
“What about the others?” In a preliminary study, the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine showed a 74% reduction of asymptomatic infections. Not top of class, but still really significant! We’re waiting on other vaccine data, but the powers that be seem to think we’re in excellent shape.
There is still lots to figure out when it comes to variants. For example, it may be that the South African and, to a lesser extent, the Brazilian variants are viral Houdinis, responsible for most breakthrough infections (defined as infections that occur in people who have attained full immunity — last dose + 14 days). Still, the Pfizer jab maintained 75% of its efficacy against them, and remained 97.4% protective against severe disease, including against variants.
Check out what’s going on in England right now:
How to use this: Rejoice! Still, if you’re in the U.S., keep in mind that the rules are set and enforced locally, so check with your state and county authorities.