How vaccinated grandparents should approach visiting loved ones now
Many grandparents have one goal in mind this winter: Get vaccinated so they can see their children and grandchildren again. But is that safe if their younger family members have not yet been vaccinated?
Older
adults are one of the priority groups for vaccination. After health
care workers and nursing home residents are vaccinated, the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention has said that individuals 75 years
old and older -- along with other categories of essential workers -- are
next in line for vaccines. In an increasing number of states, seniors
are already getting vaccinated or will be vaccinated soon.
Vaccinated
grandparents who want to visit with grandkids who havn't received the
vaccine can safely meet outdoors, with everyone 6 feet apart, advised
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.
What
happens when older adults are vaccinated, but their children and
grandchildren aren't? Can grandparents now safely visit with family, or
are there still certain precautions they need to take? We turned to CNN
medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting
professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of
Public Health, for guidance.
CNN:
Let's start with timing. When does the vaccine give you protection
after you're vaccinated? How much protection does it offer?
Dr. Leana Wen: Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines
require two doses to give optimal protection. There is probably some
level of immunity after one dose, but we don't know how complete the
protection is and how long it lasts. The clinical trials were run with
two doses, and you should definitely get both doses. Make sure you get
the second dose of the same vaccine as the first (so if you got the
Pfizer vaccine the first time, get the Pfizer the second time, too).
Follow your provider's recommendations about when to get the second
dose. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is typically given after
three weeks and the Moderna after four weeks.
After the second dose, it probably takes another two or three weeks to develop the optimal degree of immune protection.
Let's
say you've received one dose of vaccine. After a week or two, you have
some level of immunity, but you could certainly get Covid-19 if you're
exposed to the coronavirus. A few weeks after the second dose, studies
have shown that the vaccine efficacy is approximately 95%. That's a very
high level of protection but it's not 100%. So even after getting both
doses of the vaccine, you could still get Covid-19, but your chance is
much lower. And if you did get it, according to what we know from
clinical trials, you're probably going to have less severe disease than
if you didn't get the vaccine.
CNN: Once an older adult has received the second dose, and it's been three weeks, can they visit their grandchildren?
Wen: Maybe. The answer is not as simple as saying that someone who is vaccinated can get back to pre-pandemic life. Here's why.
First,
the vaccine is not 100% effective. There is still a chance that someone
who has received the vaccine can get Covid-19. This is particularly
true as there are many parts of the country that are undergoing
substantial surges of infection. The rate of community transmission is
very high, so there is still going to be a chance of contracting
coronavirus even after getting vaccinated.
Second,
the vaccine has not yet been shown to reduce transmission of the virus.
We don't know if people who are vaccinated could still be carriers of
the virus, even if they don't get sick. That means you could be
protected yourself if you get exposed to someone with coronavirus, but
you could still be a carrier of the virus. When you get together with
your loved ones, you could spread it to those who aren't vaccinated.