Dr Chieng Jin Yu, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, from Pantai Hospital Ampang (PHA)
Why it is important to wear your mask, even after you have been vaccinated?
The vaccine is not an automatic off switch for the pandemic.
Masks and social distancing will need to continue into the foreseeable future.
Dr Chieng Jin Yu, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, from Pantai Hospital Ampang (PHA) explains the reasons why you still need to wear a mask despite being vaccinated.
1. Vaccine itself takes time to fully function
We won’t reach the 70% to 95% effectiveness rate until a few weeks after our second shot of the vaccine (and a few weeks after we get our single shot of vaccine if yours is a single-dose- vaccination). Vaccine takes time for the immune system to make the antibodies that block viral infections.
2. No vaccine provides 100% protection
Although the vaccines are incredibly effective, according to the studies, they only offer 70% to 95% protection. And it’s tough to know who the one not responding to the vaccine. If you are the one that does not gain enough antibody level, you will still be at risk for COVID-19 especially if you do not wear a mask!
3. How about those who are contraindicated for vaccination?
We still need to protect those who can’t be vaccinated. Our Ministry of Health (MOH) recommended that if you’ve had a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the vaccine, you shouldn’t get it. And those who are pregnant (without high risk) or those who are in active phase of autoimmune disease (especially those who are on biologic or high dose steroid treatment), etc are also not recommended for vaccination.
4. It takes time for us to achieve herd immunity
Unfortunately, getting vaccinated does not instantly mean we can go back to how life was before. In order for us to reach herd immunity, 70% to 80% of the population will need to be vaccinated. However, not easy for any country to achieve an ideal held immunity in a short duration. Most countries have faced several obstacles, some predictable, some not, when running the vaccination campaign. First at all, vaccine supply is limited and uncertain. Many hospitals are already overwhelming with COVID-19 caseloads. Moreover, not everyone wants the shot. All these issues could lead to difficulty in building a good held immunity. More efforts are required to overcome these issues.
5. Those who have been vaccinated might be asymptomatic spreaders
The vaccines prevent illness, but experts are not sure if the vaccines also prevent virus transmission.
