Pennsylvania is relaxing masking guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated. The move comes even as the state sees a slight rise in the number of cases, and health experts say people still need to be careful.
“I think people should still wear their masks, socialize and wash their hands,” says Dr. Debra Powell, Reading Hospital’s Chief of Infectious Diseases. She urged caution, adding, “We’re not out of this pandemic yet.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is reviewing the state’s masking order to be consistent with recent Centers for Disease Prevention and Control guidelines. Now fully vaccinated people can get together with other vaccinated people without masks or social distances. The new rules also apply to vaccinated people who come together with people from one household who have not been vaccinated but who are considered to be of low risk.
Some European countries have introduced new lockdown restrictions or are considering tightening their rules as things grow. In Berks County, there have been more than 31,000 confirmed cases and more than 900 deaths.
“We saw a pause here in our health system about two weeks ago and now we’re seeing some increase in the number of cases,” Powell said. “Not as we saw before, but it is rising slightly.”
Questions remain about how long vaccines will be effective in providing immunity to COVID-19, but doctors say the vaccine will likely be effective between six months and two years. As new variants of the virus emerge, some of which are more easily transmissible, the current efficacy of the vaccine could be tested.
“If you see new variants circulating, like the South African variant, the earlier vaccines may not work very well for it, so we may need annual boosters to keep this under control – just like what we do with the flu shot,” Powell said.
Pennsylvania has administered more than 4 million doses of vaccine. More than 1.5 million people in Pennsylvania are fully vaccinated, including more than 40,000 people in Berks County.
“We should expect more variants to come,” Powell added. “Our behavior now will reflect what happens in a month.”