What you can do post-vaccine, and when Scientists cite several reasons for staying masked and cautious as you start your post-vaccine life By Claire Cain Miller, Margot Sanger-Katz and Katherine J. Wu New York Times,Updated December 21, 2020, 5:36 p.m. Email to a Friend Roy Dunlap received the coronavirus vaccine at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., last week.Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post Vaccines are here, bringing hope of the pandemicâs end. But even when you get your dose, it wonât mean an immediate return to life as you knew it. Scientists cite several reasons for staying masked and cautious as you start your post-vaccine life. Vaccines donât offer perfect protection; we donât yet know whether vaccinated people can spread the virus; and coronavirus is likely to continue its rapid spread until a large majority of the population is vaccinated or has survived a natural infection.