SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of thousands of Utahns have received COVD-19 vaccinations, prompting the question: When can life return to normalcy?
“People who are vaccinated, like I said, they can start to live their life more normally again, especially with other people who have been vaccinated. If you are going to places like the grocery store or if you’re getting on a plane or something like that, it is really important that we all keep wearing our mask until public health officials tell us that we can get rid of that particular annoyance,” said Stephen Goldstein, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Utah.
RELATED: Every Utahn who wants COVID-19 vaccine could get one by end of April
After getting the full dose of the vaccine, it takes two weeks for your immune system to build up protection.
Goldstein said if you’ve previously had COVID-19, you should still get vaccinated as the vaccine will boost your immune system’s protection.
Det. Ken Hansen of the Unified Police Department spoke with FOX 13 about the changes in his life now that he's vaccinated.
"When I'm around my coworkers, I feel safer because I know they're vaccinated. When I'm at the gym, I feel safer, even though I don't change anything that I do. I just know that, of all the people at the gym, I'm protected," Hansen said.
RELATED: Virus kills at a steadier pace than daily confirmations show
New studies out of Israel show the Pfizer vaccine not only prevents severe sickness but also stops the transmission of the virus.
“We think the risk of asymptomatic transmission is less if you are vaccinated, but we don’t know how much, and that’s based on a small amount of data,” said Dr. Hannay Imlay, assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at University of Utah Health.
Goldstein says as more people continue to get the vaccine and if we all continue to mask up and practice social distancing for the next few months, we should be in great shape heading into the summer.
RELATED: Bills ending COVID-19 restrictions, limiting health order powers advance in Utah legislature