It’s a debate you’ll probably hear more of in the coming months; do you have to wear a mask even if you’ve already been vaccinated? Doctors with CHI Nebraska say until we know more about how the virus transmits, masks should stay on.
For people who had hoped getting vaccinated would mean no more masks, doctors like Renuga Vivekanandon say hold on, we’re not quite there yet.
“It’s really important until about 80% of us are vaccinated in Nebraska to continue to wear a mask, hand hygiene and social distancing,” Dr. Vivekanandan said. “If we do have more data that comes out and says we can do some of this sooner than later, than that’s a different discussion. But until then, we have to continue to wear our masks despite being vaccinated.”
Dr. David Quimby specializes in infectious disease at CHI Nebraska and says we still don’t know as much as we need to about the disease and what happens after vaccination.
“We know that it prevents people from getting sick, but we don’t know if it prevents them from being an asymptomatic transmitter,” Quimby said. “If you don’t know that, it’s probably not a good idea to put your loved ones, family, friends at risk.”
Although Nebraska doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate, most local cities do and the majority of businesses require masks inside. Omaha recently extended its mask mandate to May 25th.