Do I have to wear a mask after the COVID-19 vaccine? | Health | Magazine

Vaccines prevent the presence of serious symptoms, but the person can still spread it.

The vaccination process is progressing in Ecuador and the doses applied are increasing, however, biosecurity measures should not be neglected.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, as of June 7, in Ecuador there were 891,976 people who had received the full dose of vaccines against COVID-19 (two doses).

This process is important to begin a reactivation that has been evidenced in several countries of the world such as the United States and Israel, although specialists have detailed that they must be accompanied by an effective communication of the risks that still arise due to not having a high percentage of population immunized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States advises that people who have already completed their vaccination can resume activities without wearing a mask or keeping their distance except when required by law or regulation. This has been questioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), since it indicated that it depends on other factors to make this decision in each country. One of them is health coverage and the other is the incidence of cases, that is, it is not only enough to have a high number of vaccinated since there must be a transition period between decreasing infections and increasing immunizations.

Why should you wear a mask even if you are vaccinated?

In the context of Ecuador, the Ministry of Health has stated that it is necessary to maintain biosafety measures even if the first or second dose has been vaccinated, that is, use a mask, wash hands and have physical distance since the vaccine does not generate a immediate or full protection as it only prevents severe symptoms of COVID-19 from occurring.

The contagion capacity of a vaccinated person is still being evaluated since some experts point out that the virus can proliferate in the person and be asymptomatic, so it can spread the virus to others who are not. On the other hand, other specialists maintain that in them the virus should not multiply nor should they have the ability to spread.

However, both trends agree that until evidence shows, the mask should continue to be used.

“But until we know completely about this, it is important that people, even after vaccination, take precautions, wear a mask, wash their hands and maintain physical distancing, because even if they have an asymptomatic infection they may not get sick because they got the vaccine, they could still carry the virus and spread it to other people. Therefore, we must ensure that we control the spread of the infection, ”said Soumiya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist. (I)

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