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Opinion

Cohen: Much more to learn regarding COVID-19

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As I have talked about with Rec Centers of Sun City West General Manager Bill Schwind on my Rec Center Show on 103.1 KSCW Radio, while we have learned a lot about COVID-19 and the vaccines, there is still much more to learn and to be careful about.

I recently saw my primary care doctor and when I informed her that I had received my first COVID-19 vaccine shot less than two weeks before my primary care appointment, she told me that she would not administer a bacterial pneumonia shot I was supposed to take that day. She told me the science is not clear about whether it is safe to take a particular shot so close to the time before or after you take a COVID-19 vaccine shot. For example, the science is not clear whether it would be okay to take a seasonal flu shot so close to when you have taken or will take a COVID-19 vaccine shot.

My doctor advised me to wait perhaps as much as a month after my second COVID-19 vaccine shot before taking the other shot I was supposed to take.

I also know of at least a few people who believe that after they get their second COVID-19 vaccine shot, they plan to not wear masks. Infectious disease experts are warning to keep masks on after getting your second COVID-19 vaccine shot because while the vaccine would prevent you from getting very sick if you come into contact with COVID, you could inadvertently send COVID into the air when you breathe out.

I put this piece together just a day after the United States crossed the threshold of 500,000 lives lost due to COVID. When you take a close look at the age range of those we have lost, it is more wide ranging with many children, even elementary school age, losing a battle far too long before their time.

Do what you can to stay informed about COVID-19. There is so much more that needs to be learned, including whether a COVID-19 vaccine shot will be added to our individual “to do” lists each year. We also need to learn what is going on in other states or countries that we all have visited or want to visit to make sure a particular domestic or overseas location is safe to visit. Many parts of our country have been hit harder than others and many parts of the world have been hit very hard as well, but no country has been hit harder than our own with now more than half a million lives lost.

Editor’s Note: Gary Cohen is the host of the Rec Center Show on 103.1 KSCW that airs 8 a.m. every Tuesday.