This Sunday is Mother's Day, the second we spent in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the difference that almost half of the population in the United States has received at least one vaccine against the virus, which has already infected more than 32 million people in the country.
Some questions we ask ourselves now are: can I visit and hug my mother if we are both vaccinated?
Can I hug her if only she has been vaccinated?
Here we answer you, following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The first thing to say is:
people fully vaccinated
s
- who received the second dose to the least makes two weeks, or a dose in
the case of vaccine Johnson & Johnson may be in close quarters
with other people who completed the vaccination, without masks without distance Social.
That is,
if you and your mother were fully vaccinated at least 14 days ago, you
can hug without great risk of catching COVID-19.
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"If you are fully vaccinated, your risk of transmitting a COVID-19 infection to other people is incredibly low," Dr. Jenell Stewart, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the International Center for Clinical Research at the University of Washington, explains to Noticias Telemundo. .
Vaccinated and unvaccinated
And what if your mom or dad is fully vaccinated, but you are not?
If you or your family are not a high-risk population, and you all live in the same house, you can visit your vaccinated parents and hug them without wearing masks.
For example, the CDC explains, fully vaccinated grandparents can visit their children and grandchildren without wearing masks or physical distancing, even if they are not vaccinated, as long as no unvaccinated family member is a population at risk.
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“Once the grandparents are fully vaccinated, they can hug the unvaccinated grandchildren, as
long as the children live in a single household and are not at high risk of contracting a serious disease
,
”
explains pharmacology and molecular science specialist Namandje Bumpus , in an article published by Johns Hopkins University.
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If any of the family members who have not been vaccinated are at risk of contracting severe COVID-19 (obese or sick people, over 70 years old, smokers and pregnant women, among others) it is better that the visit be carried out in a place outdoor.
If they insist on meeting indoors, all attendees should wear a mask and stay at least six feet away from others, preferably in a well-ventilated space.
This means that hugging parents is not recommended, even if they are vaccinated.
The same happens if it is the parents or grandparents older than 70 years who have not completed the vaccination.
Even if you are fully vaccinated, try to visit them outdoors, or keep your distance and wear a mask if you plan to see them indoors.
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If several children who live in different houses want to visit their vaccinated mother, and some of them or their families have not been vaccinated,
it is best that the meeting be held outside
.
If they insist on meeting inside a house or restaurant, it is recommended that all attendees wear masks and maintain physical distance.
"This is due to the risk that unvaccinated households pose to each other," the CDC explains.
Health authorities advise people who have been fully vaccinated to avoid numerous events or gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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In general, the CDC believes that small, private gatherings and visits to public spaces are likely to pose minimal risk to fully vaccinated people.
Therefore, the precautions they take should be determined by the level of risk for attendees who have not received the vaccine and remain unprotected against COVID-19.
The CDC explains that although the risk of contagion of COVID-19 is minimal for those who have complete vaccines, the probability, although very low, of catching and transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated people, especially if they have some condition that makes them vulnerable to becoming seriously ill.
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“Coronavirus vaccines can keep you from getting seriously ill with COVID-19.
But even if you have been vaccinated, you may still be able to contract the virus, harbor it in your body without any symptoms, and pass it on to someone else, "explains the Johns Hopkins University article.
And when is a person considered fully vaccinated?
Carmel Matthews and Rita Ray visited their mother, Rosalyn Redmond, 92, and spoke to her through a protective screen to prevent COVID-19, at a nursing home in Dublin, Ireland, on March 14, 2021. Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters
According to the CDC,
we can consider ourselves fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose
, if we receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Although clinical trials indicate that the protection of this vaccine increases four weeks after receiving the only injection, so the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine suggests one month to consider fully vaccinated when it comes to Johnson & Johnson.
If you or your family members have not completed the vaccination process, either because you have not received the second dose or because it has not been two weeks since you received it, the rules change and you should try to meet outdoors or, if you do so in in a confined space, wear tight-fitting masks, and stay at least six feet away.