Got Your COVID-19 Vaccine? 3 Things to Do Now

Featured Experts:

If it’s been two weeks or more since your second coronavirus vaccination, you have about 94%–95% protection from getting sick with COVID-19. What’s next? Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., senior director of infection prevention, and Gabor Kelen, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response, share three things to remember as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Keep wearing your mask.

Researchers don’t know if people who have been vaccinated can still spread the coronavirus, and there are new variants of the coronavirus circulating in some areas. So, staying masked up is still essential to stay safe and protect others.
Keep washing your hands.

Hand hygiene is always important, and especially to protect everyone from the coronavirus. Keep using hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) or plain old soap and water, especially when you are in public places and around people from outside your household.
Keep physical distancing.

Every person who gets vaccinated brings us a little closer to the end of the coronavirus pandemic, but while so many people are still unprotected, staying at least 6 feet away from people outside of your “bubble” is a must. Likewise, avoid gathering to eat and drink with others, especially indoors and in close proximity, because this can still spread COVID-19.