You can still spread COVID-19 after getting vaccine: What you should know

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - When it comes to getting the COVID-19 vaccination, timing is critical.

“So the COVID-19 vaccine is very effective at preventing any sort of clinical disease, particularly severe illness and hospitalizations, which is incredibly important,” said Dr. Scott Robertson at Marian Regional Medical Center.

However, as Robertson explained, some people who have been vaccinated can still contract and transmit COVID-19, even if they received both doses of the vaccine.

Someone who was vaccinated could also carry the disease without any significant clinical symptoms.

“Maybe they wake up with a slight headache or just feeling a little bit of fatigue, and they just think that’s part of their normal day. But it could be a very sub-clinical amount of virus that theoretically, they could pass to others,” says Robertson.

Another important point to keep in mind about the vaccine is that it can take up to two weeks until it becomes effective.

“For those two weeks after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine, you don’t have the optimized immunity,” says Robertson.

This makes it all the more important to continue wearing a mask, keeping a physical distance and washing your hands.

“Once I get the vaccine I plan to follow all health and safety protocols like wearing a mask until they say I no longer have to wear one,” says mother Robin McMahon of two daughters.

As more people in the community receive the vaccine, Robertson wants to remind everyone why it’s not the time to let up on any health and safety measures.

“We still have a significant number of patients in our hospital fighting for their lives each and every day ... We all want to get back to our normal lives we had before the pandemic ... We need to continue to take responsibility and do our own part to make that happen."