CDC: Masks still needed despite coronavirus vaccine rollout

With more and more people becoming eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, some may believe that it isn’t as important to wear a mask.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says not so fast.

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The CDC said that even though a person has received the vaccine, masks will still need to be worn.

The agency also reminds us that masks should cover the wearer’s nose and mouth and should be worn any time you have contact with someone outside of your household, and when you are in a health care facility.

Experts say we can expect to wear masks through the year and possibly into 2022, with them coming back when there are community flares of the virus, NPR reported.

The CDC also said that people should still abide by social distancing rules and practice good hand-washing, even after getting both doses of the vaccine.

Still, health experts said that people may have a false sense of security after they get their shot, ABC News reported last month.

People can still be at risk of transmission of COVID-19 because the vaccine needs time to work. Since two doses are needed, that means it could take four to six weeks from the first dose to achieve a level of immunity similar to that shown in the clinical trials, ABC News reported.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine starts offering some protection about 12 days after the first dose and then hits 52% effectiveness a few weeks after, NPR reported. A second dose is needed to hit a 95% effectiveness rate about a week after that dose is given.

You can read the study that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The Moderna vaccine has similar results, NPR reported.

Still, the vaccine is not 100% effective, experts warn.

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Cox Media Group