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I got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and am worried I'm not adequately protected, especially now that mask mandates have been dropped where I live. (The post-vaccine Covid outbreak among the Yankees really freaks me out!) Can I get a dose of one of the more effective mRNA vaccines for better protection?
The Yankees’ “outbreak” is a prime example of the efficacy of the J&J vaccine. In this outbreak there were 9 identified infections, picked up because of the very vigorous and frequent testing within the MLB. Of the 9 infections, 8 were asymptomatic and 1 had a mild infection—no severe symptoms, no hospitalizations, no deaths.
The J&J vaccine has demonstrated high efficacy. There is no recommendation for getting additional doses of vaccine (e.g., mRNA vaccine) after completing a valid COVID-19 vaccine. The personal protection that you get from the J&J vaccine is good enough and the more important thing is that everyone around you get fully vaccinated.
Nonetheless, there is the legitimate concern that with less people wearing masks and no way of proving whether a person is fully vaccinated or unvaccinated, there can be ongoing viral transmissions. I would suggest that for person who have high-risk of severe infection with COVID-19, even though you are fully vaccinated, that you continue to avoid crowded venues and especially poorly-ventilated indoor spaces for long periods of time. On the other hand, I want you to enjoy a great amount of liberty to re-join society and put your life back together. Enjoying events outdoors is generally safe (avoiding the crushingly crowded events of course). Smaller gatherings are better than large gatherings (where there might be unavoidable crowding). I hope that as we enter into summer that the community viral transmission will be far less and that our collective concerns for ongoing viral transmission can be put to rest. Please continue to advocate for vaccinating everyone around you so that we can build up the high-level community immunity we know is so important to beating this pandemic.
