I had my second vaccination with Pfizer. Can I hug Bubby and Zayde?

More than three million Israelis have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and nearly 1.8 million received two injections. Does this mean that as more people achieve maximum immunity, they can get together? Can extended families visit and eat together again like during the pre-coronavirus days?

“We still recommend using masks and social distancing,” said Coronavirus Commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash, in response to a question from Monday. The Jerusalem Post. “This is the case during a meeting of two people who have both been vaccinated, and especially when it comes to meeting people who have not been vaccinated, such as grandchildren with their grandmother or grandfather.”

He said that “even though we eagerly await hugging and kissing [our grandparents], we still need to socially distance ourselves and wear masks in case we could infect them, and then they could pass the infection ”on to someone who could develop a serious case of the disease.

There are currently about 450,000 Israelis over 50 who have not yet been vaccinated, Ash said.

There are still many uncertainties about the effects of the Pfizer messenger RNA vaccine, including to what extent people considered fully protected can still be infected and then spread the disease, health experts have explained.

A person is considered to have maximal immunity after about seven days have passed since receiving their second dose of the vaccine. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is given 21 days after the first so that maximum immunity is reached about one month after the vaccination process starts.

The withdrawal period between the two doses of the Moderna vaccine is 28 days.

Additionally, while Pfizer and Moderna have reported that their vaccines are effective against the UK and South African variants, there is no guarantee that they will work against all other and future mutations.

“I keep all precautions” despite vaccination, Prof. Gabriel Barbash, former Director General of the Ministry of Health, told the Post. “That’s because there are many variants. I don’t know who is carrying what and some variants are very contagious … I don’t want to be able to get anything even after I have been vaccinated. “

Finally, when it comes to the Pfizer vaccine, “maximum protection” is actually 95%. That means that one in twenty vaccinated people can get the disease, even if it is unlikely to be a serious case.

Experts believe that as more Israelis are fully vaccinated, it will be realistic to reduce some of the cautious behavior that people now have to maintain.