I got my second Moderna vaccine shot two weeks ago. Does that mean that I will not get the COVID infection? No! The efficacy of the Moderna vaccine, two weeks after the second shot, is about 95 percent for the general population, according to a Food and Drug Administration analysis, but only about 86 percent for people ages 65 and older.

What does that mean for us older folks? While 86 out of 100 people who get vaccinated will not get the infection, 14 people out of 100 who get vaccinated could still get a moderate to severe infection. Which of these two groups do you fall into? You don’t know. No one knows.

Are you going to stop wearing masks, practicing physical distancing, hand washing, avoiding crowds, etc.? Only to find out later you were in the “group of 14” and you get the infection?

Bottom line: Continue masking, physical distancing, hand washing and avoiding crowds to decrease the chance you will be one of those who gets a moderate to severe COVID infection.

Barry Jorve
Casco