Do I Still have to wear a mask after I get vaccinated?

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) – Health officials warn that the first months of the Covid vaccinations won’t be enough to stop the spread and allow things to go back to pre-Coronavirus conditions.

According to doctors, the vaccine must be taken in 2 separate doses a few weeks apart . The lingering questions  that doctors have are “how much immunity does your body build up and how long does it last?”” 

“There is still the uncertain nature of the long term effects of the vaccine and infection itself for that matter. We do not know long long that immunity is going to last. There is still uncertainty of how much immunity you get for these first 2 vaccines that require 2 shots. How much immunity do you get after taking the first shot?” says Dr. Mark Anderson, Infectious disease at CHI Memorial.

White house officials speculate that  over 100 million Americans will need to be vaccinated before a decrease in active cases and hospitalizations will be seen.

This leaves local healthcare workers urging the public to continue mask wearing and social distancing practices even after being vaccinated. 

“The outcomes we don’t know about is whether or not you can be asymptomatically infected and still spread the virus to other individuals. Until we have more information about the vaccine I see us wearing masks in the foreseeable future even if we get vaccinated,” says Dr. Jay Sizemore, Infectious disease at Erlanger. 

Doctors say that this vaccine cannot give someone the Covid-19 virus, but that mild symptoms may be experienced after being vaccinated. 

“This is a messenger RNA vaccine. It does not contain viral particles and certainly not the live virus. You cannot get covid-19 from the covid-19 vaccination. Are you gonna feel a little fatigued, get little headaches, aches , chills, maybe even a fever, upset stomach and muscle aches? You bet. But that’s you feeling your body’s response to the vaccine.” says Dr. Ben Cottrell, Emergency Department Medical Director at Parkridge East. 

Healthcare officials suggest that you still get the vaccine even if you have already had Covid-19, since doctors aren’t sure how long the antibodies last.