HARTFORD, Conn — You ask, we answer your questions about covid-19 and the vaccines.
Let’s start with a question we may start getting more often in the coming weeks.
Fred wrote in to ask why you can still get COVID after you get vaccinated.
There are two things to remember, first is that you’re not immediately protected right after you get the shot. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses and it can take about two weeks after the second dose to get maximum protection.
So, that leaves a five to six-week window after your first dose where you may be more at risk than you realize.
Second, both vaccines are about 95 percent effective in stopping covid-19 from developing. But that means about one out of every 20 vaccinated people will still get COVID,
However, if that’s you, take heart, both vaccines, in trials, wound up being almost literally 100 percent effective in stopping severe cases of covid-19.
A viewer wrote in to ask if it’s safe to give away items like clothes or furniture that belonged to someone who died of COVID.
The answer is yes, if you give it a little time. According to the CDC, the SARS C-O-V-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, dies on surfaces and objects naturally within hours to days. But you can kill the virus yourself with a cleaning solution that’s at least 70 percent alcohol, or by using a third of a cup of bleach diluted with a gallon of water.
Lastly, Ilir wrote in to ask why we’re not hearing more about the flu like we normally do.
That’s because all the COVID precautions we’re taking have almost completely stopped the spread of influenza,
As of January 16th, the whole state has reported only 12 flu-related hospitalizations, and one death for this flu season, and while it’s not a true year-over-year comparison, through the first week of January 2020 there were 462 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths.