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ADVENTURES OF A SENIOR CITIZEN

Fully vaccinated but still full of questions

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I’m fully vaccinated but I’m not going out yet. And even though you may be fully vaccinated, I’m not ready to invite you into my home. I ask that you respect my decision.
As a 90-year-old who is positive for all the Covid-19 risk factors, I don’t really enjoy any room for error in how I manage my exposure to the coronavirus. While mask mandates are being abandoned across the U.S. and many now believe they may do as they please, I will continue to stay home except for medical appointments. When I go to a doctor, I will continue to wear a mask and disposable gloves.
My wonderful internist agrees that this is the best strategy. Important unknowns about the Covid-19 vaccines identified by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) make caution the prudent approach.
First, the CDC says that it is still learning the degree to which vaccinated people who don’t have symptoms can still spread the virus to others. This means that even though you are vaccinated, there’s still a possibility that you could infect others, including me.
Second, the CDC says it is still learning how long Covid-19 vaccines protect people. A booster shot may be needed at some point.
Third, the CDC says it is still learning about how effective the vaccines are against the many new variants of the virus that are popping up across the globe—many of which have appeared in the United States.  In fact, other scientists recently reported that Pfizer’s vaccine — the vaccine I received — elicited a weaker antibody response to the Delta variant, first detected in India, than the original virus, especially among older people. This raises the probability that a booster shot will be needed.
Considered together, these three unknowns regarding the protectiveness of the vaccines mean that vaccinated people may still be vulnerable to Covid.

We also must keep in mind that there are many unvaccinated pockets in our country where the virus continues to run rampant, sickening and killing people at elevated rates. I continue to pray for the many people who are still struggling to gain access to the vaccine, both in this country and across the world.
I also continue to pray for the unmasked “rugged individualists” who refuse to get vaccinated. Their actions around those who would like to stay far away from them often show deep disrespect for humankind. Many people much younger and healthier than I are likewise not ready to return to their pre-pandemic patterns of behavior. They continue to wear masks and try to socially distance when they must go out.
But I understand from them that it is much more difficult to maintain a distance now because so many are increasingly returning to their old ways — carelessly crowding others, pushing toward the item they want to buy or toward the route they want to take  —all while going maskless and, frequently, talking energetically into their cellphones. All caution has been thrown to the wind without concern for those who are trying to be careful and keep a distance.
Scientists and public health specialists readily acknowledge that they don’t know what courses the coronavirus and its many variants will still take. While vaccines have provided a significant improvement in the forecast for humanity, no one can say with certainty that the worst is over and that we are now safe to do as we please.
Let’s do our best to respect others’ choices if they are not ready to return to their previous ways.
For more information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/keythingstoknow.html


Ruth Justice Moorer, a resident of Las Cruces since 1996, is a former public-school science teacher and United Methodist pastor.

Ruth Moorer

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