I’ve been fully vaccinated. What do I do now?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about how a person should be behaving after they are fully vaccinated against the covid-19 virus. For starts simply getting the shot does not mean you are fully vaccinated. For those who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine you are not considered fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after you get your second shot. For the single dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson you are still not considered fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after your shot. If you have only received 1 shot of a two-shot course you are not fully protected. Also, if it has been less than 2 weeks since receiving a complete course of vaccine you are not fully protected. Until the 2 weeks has passed after getting a complete course of the vaccine it is recommended that you continue taking all precautionary measures in order to keep yourself safe.
 
According to the CDC they are still learning about how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Even after you’ve received the full course of the vaccine and waited the 2 weeks, they recommend that you keep taking the standard precautions in public places such as wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others and avoiding crowds.
 
So, what’s changed?
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As of the writing of this article the CDC advises the following if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
• You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
  
  

There is still a lot to be learned about the vaccine. For instance, it is still unknown how effective the vaccine is against the variants of the COVID-19 virus. Also, although we know the vaccines help prevent a person from becoming seriously ill from the virus it is not fully understood how well being vaccinated will prevent the spread of COVID-19 which is why the CDC still recommends everyone follow the precautionary measures of wearing masks and social distancing. Perhaps most importantly it is not known how long COVID-19 vaccines protect people from illness.
 
When can I a get a COVID-19 vaccine?

COVID-19 vaccines are rapidly becoming available to more and more people. Washington state is providing vaccinations in phases. To determine when you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine you can use the Washington State Department of Health Phase Finder Tool. The Phase Finder tool is designed to help people in Washington find out if they are eligible for a COVID vaccine now or if not, sign up to be notified when they become eligible. It asks a series of questions related to the four phases of vaccine distribution (living situation, age, health conditions, risk factors, work situation and zip code) to inform eligibility. You can also view a map of vaccine locations in Washington.