Day: April 26, 2021

By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health

If you’ve been vaccinated, congratulations!  If you are still awaiting your turn to be vaccinated, thank you for your patience. You can learn more about vaccinations in Santa Barbara County, including how to sign up to receive your vaccine, by visiting the County’s vaccine information website at: https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/.

You are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 approximately two weeks after receiving your second dose in a two-dose series, such as with Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. If you received the Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen, you are considered fully vaccinated approximately two weeks after receiving your single-dose vaccine. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, (CDC), those who are fully vaccinated may:

• Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low-risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.

Even if you are fully vaccinated, remember that not everyone else is, so you should continue to:

• Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing.
• Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19, or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19.
• Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households.
• Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings.
• Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• Follow guidance issued by individual employers.
• Follow CDC and Santa Barbara County health department requirements and recommendations.

With regard to medium or large sized gatherings, the CDC recommends that all people, regardless of vaccination status, should adhere to current guidance to avoid medium- or large-sized in-person gatherings and to follow any applicable local guidance restricting the size of gatherings.

With regard to travel, the CDC has not updated its travel recommendations and requirements, so you should continue to follow their recommendations.

For more information about local public health orders, guidance, and vaccine distribution in Santa Barbara County, please visit: https://publichealthsbc.org/