Booster shots and restaurants question

Hello ladies. I received my booster shot 4 weeks ago.

My husband and I found it easy to avoid indoor dining when the weather was nice. As the cooler months approach, I would like to enjoy dining indoors if possible.

But …it’s unclear how much I should avoid. I’m careful in other regards. Here in Massachusetts our vaccination rates are high. We would only consider well ventilated restaurants.

I researched but can’t find data for folks like me who’ve received the booster, live in a good vaccination rate area, & would only go to well ventilated places.

I wonder what data or conclusions others have weighed.

My oncologist encouraged me to be careful while also saying it is a balancing act

Any hard evidence out there to allay my concerns? Or am I back to takeout?

[Red1246]

I have no hard evidence to share but my oncology NP, whom I trust implicitly, has told me that I can now dine indoors with people who’ve had a third vaccine or booster. An extra precaution would be to have everyone in my group take a self test which gives immediate results. I’m trying to find the NYT article in which they list the 10 best. She further said to continue to avoid those unvaccinated and wear my mask when in restaurants until eating s d drinking.

Hope this helps.

Take care!

Kathleen

[Hidden in reply to Red1246]

Thanks.

By “dine indoors,” does that apply to sitting at a restaurant table with vaccinated people?

Or only to home dining?

[Red1246 in reply to Hidden]

Sorry I wasn’t clear: yes, it applies to restaurants as well. K

[Rubyjude]

Here in Scotland it is still mandatory for staff in restaurants to wear masks and for those dining to wear masks when entering or moving around the restaurant. Having sufficient distance between tables is also important, as is ventilation and the appropriate cleaning of tables etc between clients. I've had my booster and went out for dinner a few weeks ago with vaccinated friends, who had taken a flow test beforehand, to a place where all these precautions were met. It felt really good to be out and oddly, everything felt pretty normal. Great, finally, to eat food someone else has cooked! I'd say, take the necessary precautions and enjoy yourself.

[Hidden]

I’m in the UK we have decided that on balance we are ok to eat in small well ventilated restaurants ~ we’ve generally gone for much smaller restaurants without air conditioning generally which are keeping doors or windows open for air ventilation and going at quiet times. As we move further into winter will have to see how we get on.

It’s a tough call to make but I think you need to find the decision that’s right for you. I personally didn’t want fear of the risk to stop me enjoying the life I have been gifted with.

Hope that helps

[urthmothr]

I finished my immunosuppressants over a year ago, have my 3rd inoculation, and keep in mind that my oncologist reminded me that I don't want any virus! So we wear face masks when not actually eating (most town require them of restaurant personnel), social distancing, and hand-washing. If a buffet, there needs to be a shield over the food, and I bring my hand sanitizer. Plus, my husband and I don't like crowds and long wait times anyway, and have always eaten early for that reason.

[SpongebobMom]

At some point you just gotta live your life...

[Aquadog]

Hi! I don't know about hard evidence, but my husband and I have been eating out since early summer with no trouble. We're both vaccinated although don't have the booster. We are careful about where we go - the staff has to wear masks and the tables have to be spaced far enough apart - we're not shy about picking out our own table. There's no way to avoid air conditioning here in Texas (and I wouldn't want to! LOL), but a lot of the restaurants have reconfigured their a/c systems. Dining out is one of my great joys - the rule in my house is: I don't cook on Saturday!

I say go out and enjoy, but be careful.

[PJBinMI]

I live in a rural area where alot of people have not gotten vaccinated so even though my husband and I are fully vaccinated, including the booster, we've been quite cautious. There are only a couple of near-by restaurants that we went to often before the pandemic and we've not been back to them. The only place I usually go now besides medical appts is the grocery store, and I mask up and use wipes there. This is not the life I would choose but after all the sacrifices I've had to make due to this lousy cancer, I'd rather be ultra careful around here. If I lived where a larger percentage of people were vaccinated, I'd likely dine out quite regularly.

[kearnan]

I have no issues at all. Here in NY, you have to show your vaccination papers. I do not drive so I also had to show ID (and I do not use a cell phone, NOPE). My friend had hers on her cell phone. We still have to wear masks at cancer center, but basically I feel fine and protected now that I got the Pfizer vaccine in April. I am gong for my flu shot but I do not feel like getting the third booster shot. So although they can we can get both at the same time, I feel okay with just having the two done. I eat indoors bc I see they make people show proof first.

[mariootsi]

I personally will not be eating in a restaurant anytime soon. I don't want to be with a room full of people with no masks, in close proximity and talking spreading covid and flu germs! I'll stick to takeout and delivery for now.

[LDR1]

Sandra and Marianna, I’m with you on the ultra-cautious end of the scale. I’m continuing to avoid indoor restaurant dining and any indoor gatherings with unmasked people. I’m fortunate to live in a highly-vaccinated area (MA) where most businesses still require masks to enter. I know several people who were cautious til now then got Covid from indoor dining & parties. No thanks, I’d rather stay safe even if that means being less social ….

[Hidden]

I have been out a few times now to some restaurants and felt pretty safe. The places I have been to haven’t had many people in and all are spaced a good distance away. My friend has had a baby and we went for a festive afternoon tea on Thursday. I got to hold a baby and eat cake, so it was well worth it for me. It is very much a personal choice, but for me I have really enjoyed the social aspect which is good for my mental health. These vaccines seem to be very good at keeping symptoms of Covid milder than previously, and although I really don’t want to catch it,I do feel fairly confident that I could recover from it.Clare

[wendle3007]

As your oncologist says, it is a balancing act. Yes, going to public places indoors has risks but maybe ask friends about restaurants they've been to for information on how close the tables are, ventilation, what their cleaning of tables between seating looks like. On the other side, I was told that takeaway food had its own risk as you don't know how long it sits around before being delivered and thus can your immune system cope with the levels of bacteria which "healthy" people wouldn’t notice.I'm in the UK and have been happily eating in restaurants on the occasional basis but only those which I know and trust.