You Can Finally Do This After Getting the Vaccine, Experts Say | Best Life

While it’s easy to assume that getting the COVID vaccine will immediately open up new possibilities and allow you to shirk public health measures, that’s not exactly the case. Health experts have warned that people who get the vaccine should still adhere to most COVID precautions until the majority of the public is vaccinated. However, there is one thing that experts have confirmed you can safely do again after getting the vaccine. Read on to find out which coronavirus precaution you can drop, and for more lifted restrictions, The CDC Says You Don’t Have to Do This Anymore Once You’re Vaccinated.

Physician Kavita Patel, MD, who served under the Barack Obama administration, told CNBC that people who are fully vaccinated can have small gatherings with other immunized people. Patel said she plans to begin having small gatherings and seeing her parents soon after she’s fully vaccinated.

She made sure to note that there are still risks involved with gathering. However, once both parties are fully vaccinated, Patel believes it’s worth discussing those risks. “I am comfortable potentially having a small gathering … when we’re all vaccinated together,” she said. And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Patel noted that gatherings will become more common over time. “As the months go on and more people in your household and potentially another household, like your parents or your grandparents, are vaccinated, that could make smaller gatherings safer,” she said. “That is something to look forward to because we’ve been holding off now for over a year, some of us, to see older parents and relatives with high risk.”

More vaccinations are around the corner, which makes the possibility of enjoying gatherings again feel imminent. White House COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, recently said he expects it to be “open season” for vaccinations by April. If Fauci’s prediction comes to fruition, Patel believes more people could be gathering by summertime. And for more on the vaccine rollout, You’ll Be Able to Get Vaccinated at Any Walgreens by This Date.

During a Feb. 11 interview on Today, Fauci said once you’re fully vaccinated, you can see people—as long as they’re also fully vaccinated. He said that when both parties have gotten their shots, they can get together without a mask, hug, and continue “pulling back from restrictions.” However, Fauci cautioned that if one party is not immunized, both people should still take all the precautions when seeing each other. Even though the vaccine is preventing one person from getting physically sick, that person could be unwittingly carrying the virus in their nasopharynx and end up infecting the other. And for more expert insight, Dr. Fauci Says You’ll Easily Get a Vaccine Appointment After This Date.

While you are able to safely hang out with other vaccinated people without worrying too much about public health measures, you do have to adhere to other COVID precautions, like wearing a mask, outside of those gatherings. “I’m…