Couple wants proof others are vaccinated

DearAmy: My wife and I are elderly. We have been on a lockdown for 10 months.

Immunization is on the horizon.

Because there will be questions as to who’s been vaccinated for the virus and who hasn’t, sensitive folks like us would like to have a prepared question for asking someone if they’ve been vaccinated.

How do we ask for proof? — Locked Down

DearLocked Down: Medical questions should be shared with your doctor. You should focus on getting your own vaccinations.

A very helpful article published by AARP (aarp.org) explains the effect of immunization this way, quoting

Dr. Thomas Moody, principal investigator at the Duke University Human Vaccine Institute: “...a vaccine makes a person resistant to an infection from the virus and the illness it causes — COVID-19 — or, at the very least, makes it so that a person who becomes infected has a shorter course of disease, or not as many complications.”

Although a vaccine protects you from the COVID illness, vaccinated people can still possibly spread the virus.

It is vital that you continue to maintain safe practices. William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says: “Just because you roll up your sleeve and get the shot doesn’t mean you can throw away your mask and disregard other prevention efforts.”

And so you can say, “We got our COVID immunization. Have you gotten yours, yet?”

No. You should not ask for proof that others have been vaccinated.