DANVILLE, Pa. — More than 4.3 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been given in Pennsylvania, and that number climbs daily.
Doctors at Geisinger say one misconception about the vaccine is that once people get it, some believe they can stop wearing masks and no longer follow social distancing. Dr. Amit Mehta says that is not the case, as the vaccines are not 100 percent effective in preventing the coronavirus.
"I don't want to be in a situation where I pass on the infection to one of my patients and vice versa because some of the patients could also be carriers," Dr. Mehta said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health eased the state's masking policy. People who are fully vaccinated can now visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks. They no longer need to quarantine following a known COVID-19 exposure if they are asymptomatic.
Even so, Dr. Mehta says there are things that have not changed.
"When you are in public, you need to follow the norms. You need to follow the guidelines from the CDC—six feet away, social distancing, masking," Dr. Mehta said.
Geisinger has given around 200,000 vaccines so far. The health system is currently adding people to its waitlist. But Dr. Mehta says even though more and more people are getting their shots, we are still in Phase 1A and have a long way to go.
"As we start getting more and more people vaccinated, we will get closer to what is known as herd immunity. We're not there. We're far away from herd immunity," Dr. Mehta said.
People are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 two weeks after they have received the second dose in a two-dose series or two weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine.