Over the last year, we’ve become accustomed to wearing a mask, keeping our distance from others and staying home as much as possible in order to keep ourselves safe from the coronavirus.
But now that over 150 million Americans have received at least the first shot of the vaccine, many are starting to wonder just how much their lives can go back to normal.
“It’s not a get out of jail free card but it offers a lot of protection,” said Dr. Linsey Marr, Virginia Tech engineering professor and air quality and infectious disease expert. “I think those who are vaccinated and otherwise healthy should feel comfortable returning to their normal activities.”
She says she herself has been going back to the gym for months, and people should also feel comfortable socializing with other people who are vaccinated.
“The one thing I might be a little wary of is really crowded indoor events, a standing room only concert or something like that.”
Dr. Marr says for the vaccinated, they can even consider going back to large public spaces like amusement parks.
“You can start thinking about returning to those activities,” she said. “A lot of its outdoors which makes it much safer than indoors. The things I would watch out for are again the really crowded areas. Like if you’re waiting in line for half an hour and its one of those snaky lines where people are really close to each other, there maybe you’d want to put on a mask.”
But given what we know about how effective the vaccine really is, Dr. Marr says it is time for fully vaccinated people to once again readjust their perception of risk.
“The vaccines are so good that your risk of getting severe disease is really close to zero.”
