Dr. Gabriela Vazquez Benitez, has always been drawn to numbers and has a knack for analyzing them with meaningful application. Her expertise as an epidemiologist and biostatistician is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. LEDC invited Dr. Gabriela Vazquez Benitez to a Facebook Live session present on COVID-19 safety. She herself was actively recovering from COVID-19 after becoming sick shortly after the mask mandates were lifted. Her symptoms were not noticeable nor severe thanks to her vaccines against COVID-19. Dr. Vazquez Benitez wants the community to know that even a vaccinated and well informed COVID-19 researcher can contract the virus.
January of 2022 had high infection rates due to the omicron variant. Once rates lowered, we saw progressive declines in mandates and restrictions at federal and local levels: in February it was determined that Minneapolis and St. Paul restaurants and event venues did not need to check vaccinations status, In March court rooms lifted mask mandates, and most recently in April public schools and transportation entities (MSP Airport and Metro Transit) were high-traffic institutions to lift the mandates. Besides hospitals which have kept mask mandates, some businesses and institutions have kept policies. These inconsistencies in safety protocol have left many uncertain on what precautions, if any, we should take to protect ourselves and our children against the virus.
Dr. Vazquez recommends that everyone develop their own formula balancing known health risks and personal comfort. Though this risk percentage cannot be punched into a calculator, science and statistics-inspired reflection is a valuable tool. When answering if people should continue to wear a mask and/ or be social distancing, Dr Vazquez states that many factors should be accounted for in your choice of preventative care, including:
Factors to consider when determining your covid risk level
Chronic Health issues
Conditions like obesity, Cancer, Cerebrovascular disease and HIV puts people at higher risk for covid complications. More info
Age
The older someone is, the greater risk they are for covid complications, especially those above 65. More info
Where you live
Every county, state, country has its own levels of covid spread meaning risk levels can be highly localized.
Healthy lifestyle
Being active and eating healthy can lower the risk of complications
Place and type of work
Different jobs place people at different levels of risk and responsibility for covid spread (w/ public service industry, health care).
Enclosed and or crowded environments
If you are in enclosed and/or crowded environments (ex. restaurants,concerts), there is a greater risk of covid exposure and spread.
Vaccine Immunity
How long ago where you last vaccinated? How many doses? Have you received a booster?
Natural Immunity
If you self-isolated for the proper amount of time after getting covid you will have natural immunity.
Known exposure
Stay home and away from other people for at least 5 days (day 0 through day 5) after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19. The date of your exposure is considered day 0. Wear a well-fitting mask when around others at home, if possible.
“Nada mas me falta una varita magica”, much like everyone else, Dr. Vazquez wishes we could know when normalcy will return as we proceed into the third year of COVID-19. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to know when the pandemic will end, let alone will change to endemic status. She explains, “Es difícil de romper el círculo de transmisión, no todo el población tiene medidas de cortar el virus es lo que …cada lugar tiene su propio curva de epidemiológica.”
While we have no magic wand, the magic of cooperation and strategic thinking can continue to lower our risk and bring us a step towards moving past Covid. Beyond official sources, an individual’s Intuition, observation of conditions can be a valuable guide especially when there are false senses of security and peer pressure. Each person has different variables to account for. For most, risk percentage will significantly decrease of a person’s risk percentage masks and the vaccine can be added to one’s equation.
In addition, these factors need to be also when considering the conditions of our loved ones The most important factor to apply (and multiply), Dr. Vázquez reminds, “Yo tengo también que pensar no solamente en mi ecuación sino en la ecuación de la gente que está a mi lado”.
