Covid 19 coronavirus: Life after the vaccine - what will it look like?

Scientists say a cautious approach is still needed after vaccinations. Photo / Getty Images

Hope of freedom is here. But as the first batch of New Zealanders lines up to get the jab, experts warn life won't be returning to pre-Covid times just yet.

Scientists say the vaccine isn't a magic bullet and public health measures like wearing a mask on public transport should still be encouraged.

Can I relax about Covid-19 after getting the vaccine?

No. Vaccines have proven to be highly effective in stopping people from presenting symptoms and preventing transmission, but the extent of that is still being established.

"Don't assume you can't transmit the virus after being vaccinated," University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris warned.

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Vaccines also don't offer complete protection. If the jab is 90 per cent effective, then it could still fail in one of 10 people.

And Covid still has the potential to rapidly spread until the majority of the population are vaccinated.

If there's another community outbreak, will vaccinated people be able to avoid a lockdown?

It's not recommended.

Petousis-Harris said as people became vaccinated they were potentially removed from the chain of transmission but they were not bullet proof.

Univeristy of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris warns the vaccine is not a magic bullet. Photo / File

"You just don't know who the vaccine might fail in so we all have to keep behaving as if there could be a chance that we are in that small group that aren't protected," she said.

Do vaccinated people still have to wear masks on public transport?

Short answer - yes.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said even though the person who is vaccinated may be protected, it was still unknown whether they could pass the virus on to someone else.

"All the vaccine means is that we can achieve herd immunity more efficiently … but that doesn't mean we would stop public health measures.

"If someone has measles they isolate at home and it will be the same with Covid," Baker said.

Will the vaccine mean our borders can open?

Baker said opening the border would likely happen in degrees.

"If Australia and New Zealand get to a point where they feel very comfortable managing the risk and we are seeing no transmission in either country then we could have quarantine-free travel between the two countries."

He said this could start to happen with more and more countries as our vaccine programme continued to roll out.

Pfizer coronavirus vaccines before being administered. Photo / AP

"It might be that passengers have a requirement to vaccinate before travelling overseas, as we have seen done with yellow fever."

Similarly, he said we wouldn't let someone with Covid hop on a plane.

How long could it take to reach herd immunity?

It depends on the effectiveness of the vaccine and the coverage we could achieve. Even 80 per cent coverage would be sufficient. At this stage it's a waiting game, said Baker.

Could we still see outbreaks after reaching herd immunity?

Yes, it was possible.

Petousis-Harris said we could have little outbreaks pop up but they could be squashed fairly quickly.

"These vaccines are way more effective than the flu jabs so it's likely we will be able to control it a lot better."

Could we ever get rid of Covid completely?

Experts' views are mixed.

Baker said one of two scenarios was possible but it came down to the effectiveness of the vaccine and again that was a waiting game.

"Either we learn to live with it and control it when cases did pop up or we eliminate it."

If we did learn to live with it then it could mean we get the jab regularly - perhaps every year as we do with the flu, where the vaccine is reformulated.

"But [we] definitely don't want it circulating every winter if we can avoid it," Baker said.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker says NZ should not have to wait until the country reaches herd immunity to open the border. Photo / File

Petousis-Harris said the problem with eradicating or even eliminating Covid was that the virus was not only a human pathogen.

Unlike smallpox, measles and polio, Covid-19 can jump between humans and animals. So even if humans are vaccinated against coronavirus, the virus could still be subject to a whole random bunch of mutations and re-emerge in a different form, Petousis-Harris said.

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