Now That I’m Vaccinated, Do I Still Need To Get Tested

We don't hear too much about testing these days since people have been getting vaccinated, but once vaccinated, do you still need to get tested?

Since the pandemic has started I have gotten routinely tested out of respect of my family and co-workers. I got my last test two weeks before I got vaccinated. Moving forward, I wondered if I still need to get routine tests.

According to WOOD, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says you don't need to get tested or to quarantine if you're fully vaccinated, even if you've been exposed to someone who was sick. Now if you are experiencing symptoms like a fever, your tired and you have the cough, then yes you should get tested.

The good news about getting fully vaccinated is even if you get infected, the effect of the virus will be a lot milder and you are also less likely to spread it to someone else.

If you have a job that has workplace screening, you don't have to participate in that anymore unless you work in a situation where there is a higher risk of an outbreak.

If you work in the medical field, because people who do have the virus are being admitted to the hospital because they have COVID-19, you still will need to follow your medical center's guidelines out of safety for yourself, family and your patients.

If you are flying back to the United States from another country, even though you are a citizen you have to show proof that you tested negative before getting on the plane. For those who do test positive, you still have to quarantine for 10 days just like before.

It's pretty simple math, the more people that get vaccinated, the less getting tested will be necessary.

When the cold and flu season returns in the fall, some of the practices that we all used during the pandemic like washing our hands often, keeping work areas and homes sanitized, wearing a mask and evening social distancing from those who appear to have old symptoms will not only keep you from catching COVID-19 but help you avoid the common cold or flu. The flu was at record lows last year because of the things mentioned above so there's no reason to go back to our old ways during flu season.