Will You be Fine to Resume Normal Life After COVID-19 Vaccine? Find Out

India is opening vaccination for all people above the age 18 from May 1. Three vaccines will be available from May in India. Though prevention is the best protection against COVID-19, vaccines have emerged as the strongest defence post-infection.

The United States on Tuesday eased outdoor mask protocol for fully vaccinated people. More than 50 per cent of all adults in the US have received at least one dose of vaccine. The US said that death among fully vaccinated senior citizens considered the most vulnerable due to COVID-19 has dropped by 80 per cent.

This is like a return of normalcy for fully vaccinated people.

But the question is who is fully vaccinated? Vaccines take time to develop immunity against the illness. In the case of COVID-19 vaccines, they take two- three weeks to offer protection against COVID-19. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing the vaccination, which means for the three vaccines (Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V) approved in India, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after taking the second dose. All three vaccines are of two-dose regimes.

People, who have taken just one dose, would also develop immunity after two weeks of taking the jab. But they are not considered fully vaccinated. They are less vulnerable to serious illness due to COVID-19 infection. Available vaccines provide no guarantee against infection by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 disease. But they reduce the severity of the illness.

It is to be mentioned that a vaccinated person can gather indoors and outdoors without the risk of life-threatening illness. If all people in the gathering are fully vaccinated, they can 'flout' COVID-19 safety protocol of wearing a face mask or maintaining social distance. They can also mix up with people who are not yet vaccinated within a household, without wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing if the members are at low risk for COVID-19 severity.

Moreover, such people can skip getting tested for COVID-19 or avoid isolation after being exposed to a COVID-19 positive person if there is no symptom. Also, such people must get tested if they develop symptoms of COVID-19. They should also quarantine themselves for two weeks.

People still question the normalcy after getting the vaccination. Scientists studying SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination are not yet sure whether a COVID-19 vaccine stops transmission of the virus as well. They know, for sure, that vaccine reduces mortality and the severity of COVID-19 illness. Recently, Covaxin-maker Bharat Biotech said it found evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine not only had 100 per cent efficacy in reducing the severity of the illness, but it also reduced the need for hospitalisation and decreased transmission of the virus from a vaccinated person to others. This is still no guarantee that fully vaccinated people can return to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic lifestyle unless they wear face masks.

A fully vaccinated person can go to public places, enjoy parties, and help COVID-19 patients but with a face mask on and, maintaining social distance. This means, normalcy can return for fully vaccinated people but for only those who top up vaccine defence with the protection of a mask and proper COVID-19 behaviour.

As the centre announced that the registration process for the coronavirus vaccination which begins from May 1 onwards has commenced from 4 PM today (28th of April), all the eligible adults above the age of 18 can register themselves for the vaccination drive via CoWin app/website, Aarogya Setu app or the Umang app. Also, India has been mainly administering two indigenous vaccines- Serum Institute of India's COVISHIELD and Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN to inoculate people but after the massive surge in the cases of the novel coronavirus, the government from April 13 gave approval to the use of other vaccines used in different parts of the world like Russia's Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, India yet again smashes its own previous record of the single-day highest spike in the cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday as it reported 3,60,960 fresh cases, the highest ever single-day spike recorded globally. In the last 24 hours, 3,293 fresh cases of COVID-induced fatalities were reported taking the total death toll of the country to 2.01 lakhs. Yesterday's surge in the cases of the novel coronavirus takes the total tally of the country's caseload to 1.79 crores while the active cases amount to 29.71 lakhs. Over 3 lakh COVID-19 cases have been reported in India for the seventh straight day, making it the second-worst coronavirus-affected country in the world.

Also Read: Single Dose of COVID Vaccine Cuts Household Spread by up to 50%: UK Study

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