Dr Zac Turner on what will happen in Sydney after ‘freedom day’

Sydneysiders are eagerly awaiting October 18 when 70 per cent of NSW should be fully vaccinated but a doctor has offered a word of caution.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from News.com.au. This week Dr Zac explains what will happen after “freedom day”.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, Sydney’s Freedom Day has been announced for October 18 – we will finally be opened for the double vaccinated. I had been hesitant about getting the vaccine, but the announcement has forced my hand and I’m now rushing out to get it done.

Initially I was really excited by the thought of living with Covid, rather than hiding from it.

However, my initial excitement has turned to fear and I’m starting to overthink what living with Covid will actually be like.

Would you be so kind as to share with me an ‘Idiot’s guide to surviving life after Freedom Day’ – especially considering my final jab only happens the day before we get released from lockdown. My concern is that full efficacy is not achieved until two weeks after my final jab – and that will be after everyone is mixing with each other again. – Don, 38, Sydney

Answer: Hi Don, this week has definitely been packed to the brim with exciting announcements for NSW, in particular that life can go back to some type of normal on October 18 or thereabouts for vaccinated citizens.

I do share the same anxieties as you though. I fear many people will treat Freedom day as a liberation from Covid-19, and not lockdown restrictions. I predict many people will forego social distancing, hygiene and ignore all further health advice.

Sydney is aiming for October 18 to be 70 per cent fully vaccinated. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

It’s great to hear you’ve decided to be vaccinated, you are taking on your responsibility. People need to remember that a high-vaccination target is to protect those who can’t take the vaccine for a number of reasons such as undertaking chemotherapy, allergies or an underlying health condition. As well, appropriate vaccination can help to reduce the many different latent effects of ‘long Covid’.

I won’t call it an idiot’s guide, but I’ll provide some answers to a few burning questions about Freedom Day I’m sure many people have.

Why should I take the vaccine for Freedom Day, if I can still catch Covid?

It’s a fair question, and the easy way to explain it is that the vaccine does offer protection from infection and transmission, but it provides a far greater protection against serious illness or death.

A jab in the arm keeps you out of the ICU bed. The main goal of a high vaccine rate is to slow down the rate of serious illness and death and prevent ongoing complications. Just because you weren’t hospitalised or didn’t have an immediate complication doesn’t mean that later symptoms can’t effect you.

Being vaccinated is the best form of defence against getting hospitalised with Covid. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

How can someone catch Covid-19, even after being vaccinated?

Both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines require the full two-dose course for the best immune response. While partial protection against Covid-19 may be as soon as 12 days after the first dose, this protection is likely to be short-lived. The second dose encourages the body to create stronger protection (immunity) against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

Because of this, you can still become ill until your second dose takes hold, and you can infect others around you.

It’s extremely important to continue all precautions during this period in order to protect not only yourself but others. Vaccines can stop most people from getting sick with Covid-19, but not everyone.

Even after someone takes all of the recommended doses and waits a few weeks for immunity to build up, there is still a chance that they can get infected. Vaccines do not provide full (100 per cent) protection, so ‘breakthrough infections’ – where people get the virus, despite having been fully vaccinated – will occur.

Pubs and cafes will be open to the vaccinated but it’s still advised to be cautious about catching Covid. Picture: AAP Image/James Gourley.

Also, as we have seen with the Delta strain of Covid there are and will continue to be new strains emerge. It’s important to continually prime your body to be at its optimum readiness and able to tackle new variants.

So the first dose of a Covid vaccine gets your immune response going, but the second dose is essential to ensure immunity is strong and consistent from person to person. Along with this it’s important to keep healthy and encourage your body’s immunity to keep developing.

How do I prevent myself from catching Covid?

It’s inevitable that Covid cases will continue to rise after Freedom Day, but what the health modelling predicts is that the number of hospitalised cases and deaths will stay relatively low.

I’m not suggesting you live in fear, but I do recommend you take precautions after Freedom Day. It’s the simple things you’ve heard time and time again. Social distance, wear a mask if you cannot social distance, avoid crowds, wash your hands and cough into a bent elbow or tissue.

If you feel sick, get tested! Covid tests will become the new norm after Freedom Day. Just like how some people may get an STI test after a night out, others will now get the nose swab if they begin to feel unwell.

Life will go on after Freedom Day, but we will all be living a post-Covid lifestyle. Expect this to be ingrained in ourselves for the rest of our lives … heck, remember the days when we used to encourage people to blow out birthday candles and then eat cake?

We may always be more weary of handshakes and sneezes but we should have faith in vaccination rates climbing across the world. Respect for sound health advice, and guidelines and of course keep up the foundations of your immunity with good nutrition, hydration, exercise and community.

Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist.