Over 1.4 million of Indiana’s 6.7 million citizens have been fully vaccinated so far. In Delaware County, that’s 24,000 out of 114,000 residents.
Promising numbers! That and the spring weather make it feel like we’ve got this thing beat. The state mask mandate is over. Some businesses are taking down their “masks required” signs. Instagram feeds are filling with decidedly mask-free vacation pictures.
Yet infection rates are on the rise again. Formerly rare, more dangerous variants are now widespread. Anxiety remains despite the sunshine outside.
So, what are responsible people who want to continue to protect their own and others’ health to do? Info changes by the day, but here are our best answers to the questions we are hearing right now.
I’ve had both shots! It’s time to start hugging everyone, right?
Welllllll, not so fast. Here’s what the CDC says you CAN do:
• Go in your fully vaccinated friends’ houses without wearing masks or keeping six feet of distance. Hug away! Hurray!
• Go in your unvaccinated friends’ houses without wearing masks or keeping six feet of distance BUT ONLY IF they’re from one other household. Mix in a second household or more of unvaccinated folks, and you should be masking up and distancing again.
That sounds suspiciously like wearing masks in most other situations
You are correct. Out and about—masks. With multiple households of unvaccinated people—masks. Hanging out with unvaccinated people who are at heightened risk or who live with someone who is—masks.
Also, don’t forget it takes two weeks after your last dose to fully build your immunity. So you’ll be wanting a mask til then. Nobody wants COVID-19 at all, of course, but especially not so late in the game.
But why do I have to wear a mask EVER if I’m vaccinated?
Here’s a great summary by infection disease physician and University of Chicago Medicine associate professor Emily Landon:
“Your new vaccine will protect you from serious disease and will very likely keep you from getting COVID-19 at all. But you could still have a mild or asymptomatic infection and that could still set off a chain of infections and complications in others.”
In other words, you’ll probably be fine, you may never know you’re sick, but you could still be passing COVID around to people you encounter who have not been lucky enough to be fully vaccinated or with weakened immune systems, and that’s bad.
We’ll quote C.S. Lewis: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” ☺
OK, list some more things I CAN do because that makes me happy:
• Go inside vaccinated people’s houses! And have those people inside your house! (No ragers yet, though—the CDC says to wait on medium and large gatherings.)
• Eat in a restaurant that’s still observing distancing. (We’d hold off on the 100% capacities for a while yet.)
• Feel more comfortable shopping and going to the gym at non-peak hours while masked up—especially if they’re still keeping the doors open.
Embrace and enjoy your new-found freedom. Anything is better than the last year. And hopefully we can put masks away for good soon.
Information and advice is changing quickly as science learns more every day. Stay up on the latest on our Facebook page, Delaware County’s COVID-19 dashboard, Indiana’s dashboard and the CDC website.