Symptoms of brain disease detected after covid-19 0:52
Editor's Note:
There are few risk-free activities during the covid-19 pandemic, but there are ways to mitigate the risks.
People who are fully vaccinated are, of course, at a much lower risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus than people who have not been vaccinated.
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen advises approaching activity decisions with this in mind.
(CNN) -
At this point in the pandemic, the idea of revisiting extended family may be a bright spot after a dark year. Although some people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, the risks of spending time with others outside your home have not been completely eradicated.
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"The hard part is that right now, I think we all need to continue to be vigilant in everything we do, whether we are vaccinated or not," said Dr. Ada Stewart, a family medicine specialist at Cooperative Health in Columbia, South Carolina, and president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
"Yes, there is a difference if you are vaccinated, especially if you have family members who are vaccinated and then they can all come together in a different way," Stewart said.
"So there is a slight difference, but everyone should follow the public health measures recommended by the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC for its acronym in English)."
What to do if you are vaccinated against covid-19
Fully vaccinated people can "visit other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing," the CDC has said.
They can also "visit unvaccinated people from the same household at low risk of contracting severe disease from COVID-19 indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing."
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But there are exceptions.
If, for example, you are fully vaccinated and you visit unvaccinated people at high risk of serious illness or death from coronavirus, you should wear a mask and practice physical distancing.
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Also, avoid attending medium or large meetings in which you may not know the vaccination status of each person.
If you are vaccinated but have unvaccinated children, you should know that "we have to be careful when we are around them," Stewart said.
"Wash our hands, wash their hands, wear the masks."
Find ways to help your children remember how to stay safe.
One option would be to set up chairs as "physical reminders that going beyond this is being within 2 meters," said Regina Davis Moss, associate executive director for health policy and practice at the American Public Health Association.
Recommendations for unvaccinated adults, grandparents and minors
For unvaccinated individuals who want to visit extended unvaccinated family, virtual meetings are still best.
However, if you are not vaccinated and you decide to visit your unvaccinated family members, they should all be outdoors, with masks and at a minimum distance of two meters from the rest.
Whether you are indoors or outdoors, you are more likely to contract or spread coronavirus when you are in close contact with other people for a total of 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period, according to the CDC.
So you have to consider how much time they spend together and the kinds of activities they do, said Krystal Pollitt, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and an adjunct professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the School of Yale Engineering and Applied Sciences.
In addition to the spread of the coronavirus by respiratory droplets, the coronavirus can also be transmitted through the air.
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"Maybe avoiding a meal indoors, but doing it outdoors," Pollitt suggested.
This applies to vaccinated people visiting unvaccinated people who are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from the coronavirus.
It also applies to unvaccinated people in general.
Fully vaccinated grandparents can visit a home for unvaccinated children and grandchildren at the same time, indoors and without a mask, if neither of them is at high risk of serious illness.
Grandparents who want to see their unvaccinated grandchildren from different households "should see them separately or do it all outdoors" to mitigate the risk, said Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst, emergency physician and visiting professor of politics. and health management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
They shouldn't be gathering them indoors.
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