Feature Article: When the Whole Family Has Not Yet Been Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Published on in Parents PACK
Published on in Parents PACK
As COVID-19 vaccines roll out, it is likely that for many families, not everyone in their home or “bubble” will be immunized at the same time. Not only will different priority groups cause different times for immunization, but some family members may not be able to get the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines because of their age, medical history or COVID-19 infection status.
So, what should you know?
Most people can get the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines once supplies are sufficient, but a few groups of people will either need to delay or forgo these vaccines:
Of note, people with allergies to other vaccines or injectable medications and those with any other known allergies who decide to get the vaccine should wait at the site where the vaccine was given for 30 minutes, instead of the 15 minutes recommended for the general population.
We know that the new COVID-19 mRNA vaccines prevent disease, but because of the way the clinical trials were done, we don’t yet know if they prevent infection. If someone can get infected, that means the virus can reproduce in their body. The expectation would be that in a vaccinated person this reproduction would be at low enough levels that the person would not have symptoms. But, even if they don’t have symptoms, they might be able to spread the virus to others. If this happens, people in their home (or others they are in contact with) could be exposed. Studies will be done soon to determine if this is possible.
Likewise, the clinical trials showed that both of the mRNA vaccines worked for about 9 of every 10 people who were vaccinated in the trials. This means 1 of every 10 were not protected. Further, as these vaccines are given to the public, where people are not following trial instructions, there is a good chance that the number of people protected per every 10 will decrease. Public health officials actually have names for these two different numbers because this decrease occurs so commonly:
As such, even once a person is vaccinated, they will not know if they could be infected because the vaccine did not work.
For these reasons, people who are vaccinated should still continue practicing public health measures when they go out, so they don’t inadvertently introduce the virus into their household.
Overall, it is better to be an unvaccinated person in a group of highly vaccinated individuals than a vaccinated person among a group of unvaccinated individuals; however, unvaccinated members of the home still need to be cautious:
If someone in the family cannot be vaccinated, it is important that others in the home receive the vaccine (when supplies allow) in order to reduce the chance that the unvaccinated person will be exposed to the virus.
Even when all people in a home are vaccinated, it will be important to remember that as long as the virus is circulating widely in the community, recommended public health measures will be needed:
Over time, as more people get immunized, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 will diminish, and we can all get back to more normal interactions.
For general information about these topics, check out “Vaccinated or unvaccinated: What you should know.”
Categories: Parents PACK January 2021, Feature Article
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.