To the delight of most, COVID-19-related restrictions, national quarantines, and crowd busters are pretty much things of the past, and people are back outside. If you’re a grandparent or parent, you might have been confused seeing teenagers and young adults posting images on social media with the caption ‘Outside!’. We can confirm that the caption is related to the resumption of ‘normalcy’.
But why? Is COVID-19 over with? The short answer is no! Not all. We’re still amid a deadly pandemic, but the deployment of life-saving, pandemic-curtailing vaccines has been nothing short of a scientific splendor.
The various COVID-19 vaccines have been largely successful in enhancing our resistance to the deadly virus, and reducing its impacts should we become inflicted.
How Do Vaccines Work?
Vaccines don’t cure us of the disease. Being fully vaccinated, does, however, allow us to put up a greater fight against an invisible enemy! According to the Mayo Clinic, Covid-19 vaccines work by causing your body to produce a harmless copy of an element of the virus. When the body detects that element, it produces antibodies – which are the body’s internal defensive soldiers. These soldiers are then present in high numbers, allowing you to be very prepared to fight off the disease should you come in contact with it.
Benefits of Being Vaccinated
Scientific data collected and analyzed by the World Health Organization and other medical bodies have agreed that being vaccinated:
– Increases our immunity against the coronavirus disease
– Decreases our chances of requiring hospitalization if we do acquire the coronavirus disease,
– Decreases our chances of spreading the disease if we do acquire it
To Boost or Not to Boost
Most of the available, approved vaccines require the administering of two shots, and persons as young as 5, without certain pre-existing health issues, are recommended to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Organizations like the World Health Organization have recommended ‘booster’ shots, which are oftentimes one or up to three additional shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. The shot is recommended to boost the presence of antibodies since they decline over time following initial vaccination. Essentially, getting a booster shot (or shots) helps us to keep as many active soldiers in our bodies, so we can always be fighting fit!
Persons with weaker immune systems are encouraged to get boosted, as they require all immunity surges that can be safely achieved, under the recommendations of their medical care provider.
Life After Vaccination
Remember, the COVID-19 vaccine gives you protection, not invincibility! You can still get affected by the disease – even though your chances are less compared to an unvaccinated person. Therefore, it is still advisable to wear a face mask, practice social distancing, wash hands frequently, avoid crowds in poorly ventilated settings, and avoid contact with persons displaying known COVID-19 symptoms. If you suspect you have been exposed to someone sick with COVID-19, or if you’re experiencing symptoms yourself, self-isolation is encouraged, and you should contact your medical provider for further advice.
Final Word
Enjoy ‘outside’, we’ve all missed it… but don’t let your guards down! Your family, friends, neighbors, and fellow countrymen depend on our collective responsibility! If you’re unvaccinated, you’re encouraged to connect with a medical professional to share your concerns, and get any answers you may need. Vaccines offer no help to those who ask for it while receiving emergency care after contracting the virus. Getting vaccinated has been the dying wish for hundreds of thousands of people across the world. At RF&G Life, we certainly don’t want that to be you.
Vaccination saves lives!