After I am vaccinated against COVID-19

Yes. 

• Experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide before changing recommendations about precautionary measures like wearing masks.

No, not yet. The first vaccines for COVID-19 are promising, but keep in mind that:

• No vaccine can provide 100% protection from any virus and the protective effects of the vaccines might not last a lifetime. 

• It will take time to give the vaccine to everyone who wants it. 

• It will take time to assess how effective the COVID-19 vaccines will be, and how long the immune protection they provide will last. 

• We recommend you continue to respect precautionary measures in place in your community, to prevent the spread of the virus.

• When the COVID-19 vaccine is available in your community, precautionary measures may still be in effect.

• Public Health will continue to make recommendations about precautionary measures based on the number of people who get vaccinated (known as “coverage”), how quickly we can vaccinate people, and the ongoing situation with COVID-19 cases.

Yes, it is still possible to contract COVID-19 after being vaccinated.

• No vaccine is 100% effective and no vaccine will work for everyone.

• Though the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to be effective in preventing infection, it takes time for your body to build up the necessary immunity – about two (2) weeks after receiving the first dose.

• We must continue following other precautionary measures, like wearing a mask and physical distancing, even after we are vaccinated.

Researchers do not yet know if someone can spread the virus after they have been vaccinated. 

• The clinical trials that test a vaccine have looked at whether a person is protected from COVID-19 when they are vaccinated, not if the person can be infectious to other people.

• Continue following all precautionary measures, as recommended by the Public Health Department, the Cree Nation Government, and Cree Nation Councils.

Yes. People coming from Areas of Risk will still need to self-isolate even if they have been vaccinated.

• Self-isolation when returning from a high-risk area helps protect your family and people in your community.

• With vaccination rollout in all regions of Quebec and Canada, we may start to see a decrease of transmission of the virus, and be able to remove some regions, one by one, from the list of Areas of Risk. It is not possible to predict when this will happen at this time.

There is ongoing research about how long the protection from COVID-19 vaccination lasts. At this time, we do not know what the vaccine schedule will be like in the future.