Opinion | I Got a Covid Vaccine. What Can I Do?
Rivers: This sounds fun. Singing can be particularly risky, so choir practice, for example, has not been recommended for the last year. But since you are all vaccinated, you can get together with your band again and practice indoors.
What about traveling?
My husband, 79, and I received our second Covid vaccine on March 10. We live in Pennsylvania and are hoping to fly to California in April to see our daughter and her husband, who are not vaccinated. What guidance can you offer about traveling? — Susan Gross, 70, Newtown, Pa.
Marr: It’s great that the vaccines are allowing families to reunite. Everyone still needs to be careful while traveling. Fortunately, mask compliance is high on airplanes and in airports, and airplanes have excellent ventilation and filtration, as long as the systems are running properly. Airports are usually huge spaces where any virus in the air is easily diluted. From my experience, one of the riskier parts of the journey is the boarding and deplaning process, when people are crowded in the aisles and the ventilation and filtration systems might not be running. If you have the flexibility, choose days and times when flights are less crowded. I also suggest bringing your own food so that you can avoid waiting in line for food. If you need to eat and drink, find an uncrowded gate area.
Morrison: You will both be fully vaccinated by the time of your trip, but there is still a possibility that you could get infected and transmit the virus to your daughter and her husband. It would be safer for them if they were also vaccinated against Covid-19. It is for this reason that the C.D.C. still recommends avoiding travel, even if you are vaccinated. If you must travel, you should wear a high-quality mask and avoid crowds. When you arrive in California, continue to behave carefully by sanitizing, washing your hands frequently and social distancing. I recommend that you all wear masks when the two households interact.
Our family from across four states wants to gather for a week in a house on Cape Cod this summer. No way, I say. When would that be safe for anyone to do? — Robert H. Faivre, 55, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Marr: This sounds like it will involve a large group, with people who will have to travel to get to the house. You can do it as soon as all the adults have been fully vaccinated. If children from multiple households are attending and any of them have conditions that put them at greater risk of illness, then you should consider precautions for the children.
Morrison: I don’t recommend attending large gatherings until everyone is vaccinated. If air travel is involved, there is a risk that someone will contract the virus and spread it to the rest of your group. I recommend waiting until you are all vaccinated, which could happen for all the adults by summer. However, the children would not be vaccinated by that time and would therefore be at risk of getting sick if infected. If the children have health issues, it may be better for them to miss this event.
