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Original poster

Rules for vaccinated?

99 replies

MummaBear4321 · 26/12/2020 20:04

DH has just been speaking to his GPs who both have had the first dose of covid vaccine and will be fully vaccinated in 3 weeks time. They have completely isolated from everyone and everything since March. We said 'it will be amazing for you to have your freedom again' and he said that he wasnt sure he would have freedom as he has seen no mention of those who are vaccinated being able to see family.

Does anyone know will the vaccinated be able to mix in the world again, move between tiers, take flights, see low risk family members? The thought that after all the waiting, they would still not be able to go anywhere or see anyone, I felt so bad for them. Has there been anything from the government about this?

OP posts:
Frenchdressing · 26/12/2020 20:05

Good question. I would like to know this too.

PurpleDaisies · 26/12/2020 20:06

No, at the moment they behave exactly as if they hadn’t been vaccinated. It’s just that they’re at much less risk of becoming seriously ill if they’re exposed to covid.

CoronaIsWatching · 26/12/2020 20:07

There are no special rules for those vaccinated. As far as we're aware you can be vaccinated but still transmit the virus.

tobee · 26/12/2020 20:07

@PurpleDaisies

No, at the moment they behave exactly as if they hadn’t been vaccinated. It’s just that they’re at much less risk of becoming seriously ill if they’re exposed to covid.

Yes this is what I've been told as well. (I'm not vaccinated btw. I asked a nurse friend who has been)

Forgetmenot157 · 26/12/2020 20:08

I think the issue is that there is not enough data to show whether transmission. Stops once vaccinated... We know you will not. Become severely ill. But you could still. Be passing it on... My guess is that if hospitalities and deaths decreases in the over 80s and vulnerable then they may start to think about rule changes for them.

StatisticalSense · 26/12/2020 20:08

They should follow the rules for the general population as there is absolutely no evidence that this vaccine reduces spread of the virus. That said for elderly people who have been too scared to go out for several months even the current levels of freedom will feel extremely liberating if it means they feel able to visit the supermarket or see friends socially distanced and outside.

GoldGreen · 26/12/2020 20:09

Advice is you still need to follow the rules for your tier. The reasons are (a) not everyone will be protected by vaccine (90-95% effective) (that’s why we need everyone who is offered to have it so we can get herd immunity so it can’t spread). (b) Pfizer vaccine focused on if people became sick so there may be people who could be asymptomatic, even with vaccine and pass on.

OverTheRainbow88 · 26/12/2020 20:11

I think until it’s freely available for all everyone should follow the rules regardless. Otherwise, I can imagine lots of people giving up on them
When they see those vaccinated living normally.

Original poster
MummaBear4321 · 26/12/2020 20:11

So ..... how is the vaccine going to stop rules like SD and meeting family if it can still be transmitted by those who are vaccinated? Surely all of that will just keep going and going and going ....

Sorry if I seem a bit clueless. I have been avoiding the news. Too depressing.

OP posts:
Kazzyhoward · 26/12/2020 20:14

Rule relaxations will come as we see reductions in rates of infection, rates of hospitalisation, and death rates. If the vaccine means that far fewer people need hospitalisation and far fewer people die, then that will be the trigger for reduced restrictions. You can't really have different rules for those vaccinated as they won't be able to go to pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, etc if they're still closed because they're in tiers 3 and 4!

Of course, in a few months' time, it may well be the case that only those vaccinated will be able to do certain things, such as being admitted to certain foreign countries, but by that time, most people will be living in a world of fewer restrictions due to the (hopefully) far lower infection/hospitalisation/death rates.

OverTheRainbow88 · 26/12/2020 20:15

My take on it is they will vaccinate all those who are at risk of dying and once that’s done it will spread until it dies out.

There are no plans to even vaccinate kids at the moment.

So basically the SDing etc is to protect the vulnerable , which once vaccinated life will go in...

I may be wrong!

Mousehole10 · 26/12/2020 20:15

No, as there isn’t enough data to see if it stops transmission or not. The idea is that once the vulnerable have been vaccinated there will be no need for restrictions as the vulnerable won’t be getting seriously ill in large enough numbers to bring down the NHS.

Kazzyhoward · 26/12/2020 20:17

@MummaBear4321

So ..... how is the vaccine going to stop rules like SD and meeting family if it can still be transmitted by those who are vaccinated? Surely all of that will just keep going and going and going ....

Sorry if I seem a bit clueless. I have been avoiding the news. Too depressing.

When we hit a level of "herd" immunity with the vaccine (i.e. 50/60% of population), it will no longer matter whether vaccinated people pass on the virus to others. The people they pass it onto will be likely to have been vaccinated so won't have severe symptoms, probably won't need hospitalisation and probably won't die. It's not a matter of eradicated the virus (which is impossible) - it's a matter of reducing the number of people who need treatment and reducing the number of people who die, to manageable levels (like all other viruses etc).
PastMyBestBeforeDate · 26/12/2020 20:18

If very few people are getting ill from it then the NHS will be able to cope with those that do. It might be that it isn't spread as well by those that are vaccinated but we don't know that yet.

purplejungle · 26/12/2020 20:18

As long as she agrees, I will be visiting my granny when she has been vaccinated. Risk to me is low, I'll still stick to the rules with everyone else (therefore even if she passes it to me risk of me passing it on would be low). When she has been vaccinated the risk associated with isolated outweighs the risk of the virus. She might not have long left.

purplejungle · 26/12/2020 20:19

*isolation

Original poster
MummaBear4321 · 26/12/2020 20:21

I see the sense in this, but I think DHs 82 year old grandmother hasn't copped that she will still be at home, under the same rules, not able to meet our daughter who was born at the start of the last lockdown. Mentally she went down rapidly as she was a very independent woman pre covid, but the idea of the vaccine has really perked her up. She sees it as light at the end of the tunnel for her, when in reality nothing will change. Poor woman.

OP posts:
alreadytaken · 26/12/2020 20:22

We have been following not the rules but the science - so generally doing less than we are permitted to do. Once vaccinated I intend to do everything that is permitted. So we'll eat out when allowed, instead of getting takeaways, travel if we are allowed and go in non-essential shops when open.

We'll still wear masks to protect others, as we've been doing since it was encouraged and before it became compulsory. I dislike masks but I wont risk discarding them until we know about transmission risks.

lunar1 · 26/12/2020 20:22

Hopefully we will see a point where infections and serious illness start reducing as more and more people are vaccinated. Given that it's the most vulnerable people being given it first is shouldn't take too long to start seeing some difference, hopefully there will be a reduction in NHS sickness too.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few months.

LindaEllen · 26/12/2020 20:22

Those who've been vaccinated can still spread the virus, and it's not 100% effective in preventing illness - so we need a large percentage of the population to have had it for it to have its desired effect. It's not that those who have it first can get back to normal the quickest - though it should at least calm any worries they may have had about becoming seriously ill personally.

PurpleDaisies · 26/12/2020 20:24

Those who've been vaccinated can still spread the virus

That’s not quite right-we just don’t know that the vaccines reduce transmission for certain yet although we think they will.

TeenageMutantNinjaCovid · 26/12/2020 20:27

No there hasn't

There are also 1.8 million (?) who have tested positive and unlike other countries no different rules

Ridcully82 · 26/12/2020 20:31

If you've been following the shielding/ECV guidelines, then the general tier rules look pretty good from here

Original poster
MummaBear4321 · 26/12/2020 20:31

But .... myself and DH are in a very low risk group (we are 30, no health conditions), I dont work as I am on mat leave, he works outside alone, and with his GPs having the vaccine their risk becomes incredibly low, and they dont work and wont be going many places as everything is closed, so .... wouldnt the risk of us seeing each other be minuscule? They have a minimal chance of being sick from the virus, and we have a minimal chance of getting it from them and even if we do, we have a 99% chance of being perfectly fine.

Sorry, but I am struggling to see where the major risk lies. How donwe justify not seeing her if she wants to see us?

OP posts:
OverTheRainbow88 · 26/12/2020 20:34

@MummaBear4321

If you are happy and they are then I would go for it