What do you think will change for the fully vaccinated

[patsyA]

My sister and her husband are living in the US (have done for many years)

They are both fully vaccinated and things there are different for them now, the rule there is, once you are fully vaccinated you can live a “pre pandemic” life.

For instance, they are no longer required to socially distance.
They don’t have to wear masks (unless required by federal, state or local laws)
If they have been in contact with a positive Covid case, they do not have to test or self isolate, unless they develop symptoms.

What changes do you think we will see here in the UK for the fully vaccinated?

Nothing will change

@Tealightsandd

I’m not young! I’ve had the vaccine. I know very well that the nhs is there for me as much as everyone else.

How anyone can deny that young people have had a raw deal, and that it’s mainly been to protect others, I don’t know.

Nothing. The only reason I bothered was a general sense of public-spiritedness. Just as well I wasn’t hoping for any personal benefit. (Before someone starts, I’ve had Covid, and for me it was no worse than a cold.)

@Sunnyfreezesushi

I think the uptake for the vaccine amongst the younger generation in the UK isn’t going to be as high as the government had hoped so they will have the end up offering more freedom to the double vaccinated. The over 40s and vulnerable were on the whole just happy to get the vaccine. I had the vaccine because it felt like the right thing to do for society as a whole but because I spent two full weekends in bed and had a semi—allergic reaction to the Pfizer, I won’t be jumping at a booster, unless there is something in it for me personally, like travel and some extra freedom.

If they're offering more freedoms to the vaccinated then that means vaccine passports though, which seem unwilling to do.

Tealightsandd yes good point. I need to spend less time on mn.i drive past busy cafes today which was good to see (not going in them as put lives are currently filled witj misery and swearing aka decorating). It's mainly on here and some family members where the message seems to be doom.

User "If they're offering more freedoms to the vaccinated then that means vaccine passports though, which seem unwilling to do."

I think they are very willing to do it.

what do you think will change for the fully vaccinated

They get to wear a badge

Fair or not.

I’ve been fully vaccinated since March. Can anyone explain why I have to wear a mask?

@Malteser71

Fair or not.

I’ve been fully vaccinated since March. Can anyone explain why I have to wear a mask?

Nope.

Nor can I explain why we didn't have to wear them till June 2020.

Didn't they initially think the virus could be caught more from surface transmission to start with, hence the emphasis on hand washing. Then as the scientists got to know more about the virus it became much more about the airborne particles, hence the emphasis on space, masks and ventilation.

I’ve been healthy since last March, can anyone tell me why I have to wear a mask

I have friends and family in America. Things vary very much state by state. Some states have had tougher lockdowns and restrictions than ours, some far laxer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say that fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks in most places, indoors and outdoors — but the state of California has announced that it will not align with this guidance until June 15 as one example. States vary a lot.

@ineedaholidaynow

Didn't they initially think the virus could be caught more from surface transmission to start with, hence the emphasis on hand washing. Then as the scientists got to know more about the virus it became much more about the airborne particles, hence the emphasis on space, masks and ventilation.

Umm - well Whitty has a bee in his bonnet about hand washing. I saw a talk by him on covid early on last year and in a 90 minute talk he spent 1h talking about hand washing.

But as early as late January last year, aerosol transmission from asymptomatic patients was being discussed. It just wasn't accepted by the UK who while insisting on proof of aerosol transmission before taking steps to deal with it, were quite happy to take surface transmission as a given without proof.

This actually probably comes from the age of the people involved in making the decisions. There was a time when medical science believed that ONLY symptomatic people COULD spread diseases and coughs/sneezes were always the obvious vectors. But it's been known for a number of years that flu can infect people PRIOR to symptoms developing, and that aerosols are probably just as important if not more so in virus transmission. It's just not been headlines before covid!

They were looking it as spreading in the same way flu spreads and ignoring what China was telling them.

What I mean is, of some states are saying "2 vax = no mask necessary" how is that enforced?

In my US state you can go about without a mask whether vaccinated or not. If you're not vaccinated it's yourself who's at risk. (The breakthrough case rate among the fully vaccinated is 0.5%.)

The difference tends to be in the workplace. To be allowed to stop wearing a mask at work you have to prove your vaccination status.

Similarly at schools and universities, once you are fully vaccinated you no longer have to quarantine if exposed to Covid.

When universities reopen in Sept, many will require proof of full vaccination - this is the case for both my DDs.

We're waiting to see what schools decide but I'm guessing they will allow fully vaccinated students to go mask-free but not allow unvaccinated students to do so. Or require vaccination unless there is a medical reason why not.

You also have to prove your vaccinated status to do certain jobs and to take part in some group activities.

Yes the vaccination card can be faked. However to get your vaccination status updated at your GP surgery requires them checking state CDC records, and increasingly places are requiring evidence from your GP.

It is all fairly patchwork by state.

Also contact tracing is done by the state CDC which has a record of vaccinations. So once you're fully vaccinated you'll no longer be contacted and asked to quarantine if you've been exposed to Covid at places like restaurants.

I think it’s different here. In the US, so many people are anti vax, they have to have strong incentives to get people to accept the vaccination. That’s why they’re saying those who are vaccinated can live a pre-pandemic life - they’re willing to sacrifice the benefits of masks and social distancing for the sake of getting more people vaccinated. In the U.K. there are far fewer anti-vaxxers, so we don’t need to be incentivised to accept the vaccine in the same way. That means I think it’s less likely that there will be special benefits afforded to the vaccinated.

The only consequence I can see is maybe in respect of foreign travel, if other countries require people to be vaccinated in order to travel there.

Absolutely nothing - variants are now being used as the next excuse why social controls can’t be lifted. When that runs out of steam the government will be onto the next thing. Anything to avoid losing all this power!

I wish it was otherwise as I’m now double jabbed, but sadly that is the reality…

But what is “fair” about locking up healthy vaccinated people? Do you think that just because some people are still waiting for vaccines that makes that fair? I don’t.

As a teacher who hasn't yet been doubly vaccinated, I am simultaneously 'safe enough' to be in a room with 30 young people who are all touching each other, sharing food at lunchtime etc, but not 'safe enough' to have the privileges many on this thread are whining about?

It swings this way and that doesn't it? Once again we've got "the young shouldn't have to give up any more when they're not the ones at risk", despite endless threads about it "spreading in schools" and the risk of "hospitals filling up with kids"

It seems the narrative changes according to whatever point's being made ...

Once again we've got "the young shouldn't have to give up any more when they're not the ones at risk", despite endless threads about it "spreading in schools" and the risk of "hospitals filling up with kids"

I wish they’d hurry up and vaccinate by exposure - teachers, universities, those expected to be in large crowed areas.

A 30 something working from home is less exposed than a 25 year old teacher.

The difference currently between the US and the U.K. who have both had spectacular vaccination roll out so far is

The Indian variant.

We would be in a completely different place if we’d kept it out for a couple more months until we could complete our vaccination programme.

They would be in a completely different place if it had got in in April like it did with us.

Our prospects would be very different for the sake of a few weeks.

Thing is, I don’t mind following logical rules.

Doubly vaccinated people made to wear masks? Illogical, and the only reason for it is so it ‘looks fair.’

applesandoranges221

“Absolutely nothing - variants are now being used as the next excuse why social controls can’t be lifted. When that runs out of steam the government will be onto the next thing. Anything to avoid losing all this power!“

Do you really believe that?

@Puzzledandpissedoff

It swings this way and that doesn't it? Once again we've got "the young shouldn't have to give up any more when they're not the ones at risk", despite endless threads about it "spreading in schools" and the risk of "hospitals filling up with kids"

It seems the narrative changes according to whatever point's being made ...

The narrative changes depending on who is making the point. I think you’ll find they’re generally not the same people.

It’s not helpful to ascribe opinions to one group of people when in reality it’s lots of groups with different sets of priorities. It distorts the actual picture.