Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, 65, received his second dose of the Covid vaccine a week ago, he said on Wednesday during an interview on the social media app Clubhouse. But even though Microsoft’s co-founder is fully vaccinated, he still follows safety precautions, such as wearing a mask.
“I want to lead by example,” Gates told Andrew Ross Sorkin of Clubhouse. “If you’ve been vaccinated, you can still broadcast.”
The Centers for Disease Control say even people fully vaccinated against Covid should continue to follow public health safety precautions. While the vaccines used by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been shown to be very effective in preventing serious illness and death from Covid, it is not clear at this stage whether they prevent transmission.
“I’m not going to stop wearing masks or being careful, especially with older people who haven’t been vaccinated,” Gates told Sorkin, who is also a co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Many people have wondered at what point we will be able to get back to normal, or at least cut back on preventative measures like social distancing and masking.
“It’s not until the end of spring or summer that we get to numbers that show you how to change your behavior in a significant way,” said Gates.
Gates said he plans to wear masks throughout the fall until the infection rate drops significantly, adding that the practice is “not a hugely disastrous thing.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Advisor, said Americans may have to continue wearing masks until 2022, during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union Sunday. The need for masks depends on the degree of viral circulation in a community.
“When you see the level getting really, really low, I want it to keep dropping to a baseline that’s low enough that … there’s a minimal, minimal threat that you’re going to be exposed to someone who is infected,” said Fauci.
While vaccinated people are required to wear masks in public and in people outside their household who have not received the vaccine, it is safe for fully vaccinated people to come without masks.
All priority groups will be vaccinated by May or June, so young people with no underlying conditions will be eligible to get vaccinated, Fauci said in an interview with “Pod Save America” on Feb. 18.
By July there should be enough doses of vaccine to inoculate 300 million people. Then, according to Fauci, it could be the summer before vaccines reach everyone’s arms.
To check your eligibility, use NBC News’ plan your vaccination tool.
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