Why Is Hand Hygiene Important Even After Vaccination?

Meeting your friends after a long is exciting, and the Covid-19 breakout made it more exciting because we all stayed far away from our people for an extended period. A few months ago, I met one of my friends after an extended period, and we excitedly shared a lot of things that we had done in the last few years; and you know what? More than half of our conversation was around Covid-19, strange?

He shared how he was stuck in Bangalore and survived being alone and working from home. He told me that he was terrified and wasn’t going out, but he was sanitizing his hands very frequently. After that Government started vaccination in India, which led to a state of relaxation, and now he is not worried about sanitizing his hands. What? I was astonished after listening to his statement.

He said very clearly that now he is vaccinated, and the vaccination status in India is also on the positive side. India has a high vaccination percentage, so he doesn’t need any hand sanitization practice to be followed very seriously.

His statement just changed the whole scenario of the conversation we were having. Now, nor covid-19, neither his survivor story was in focus, but the personal hygiene, hand washing, and all the other things became the center point of our discussion.

I asked him, why do you think you don’t need to sanitize your hands now?

He said, “because I got vaccinated by both doses, I’m safe now.”

Safe? How would you define this “Safety”? I asked.

He had no clear answer to this question.

Why do people associate personal hygiene only with covid-19? We know the importance of hand hygiene to prevent infection, but this infection can be of any type. Not only Covid-19 and all its variants but there are so many other bacteria and infections ready to target you. Don’t you want to be safe from their attack? If yes, then it is essential to understand hand hygiene’s importance.

Talking about surface hygiene, the situation is the same again. Surrounding hygiene is also essential because viruses reside at many spots for so long; before any virus comes closer to you, kill them using an effective surface sanitizer or disinfectant.

Things To Remember – Hand & Surface Hygiene

I explained a few essential things that will make him never forget hand and surface hygiene. Following are some of these reasons.

Association With Covid

Hand hygiene is not only associated with covid. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, health experts were recommending hand hygiene practices.

There Are Different Viruses

No doubt you’ve got both of the required doses of vaccination, but that vaccination was only for Coronavirus. Still, there are different viruses active in their surroundings. Also, some of them are new variants of covid.

Good Health

Personal hygiene provides you safety from viruses, but it also boosts your immunity which results in overall health improvement.

Role of Surfaces

Have you seen surface disinfection in hospitals? How actively are they paying attention to that? Infections are not only spreading from man to man, but surfaces are also playing a role in this threat. You also have to understand that and make sure surfaces are clean and germ-free.

Takeaway!

My friend is now really convinced; I hope you are too! He is spreading this message throughout his family and friends. Hand hygiene and surface disinfection are not only concerned about the Covid-19, but it is essential for overall safety and good health.

-Pankaj Rai