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"The most prudent thing to do is exercise caution, both for your protection and the protection of others,” says Scott Kaiser, M.D., geriatrician and director of geriatric cognitive

health for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. That means continuing with masking, handwashing and keeping a 6-foot

distance from those outside your household. VACCINE PROVIDES PEACE OF MIND Even so, people are beginning to emerge from social seclusion. Lisa Drouin Heath, 61, a health care worker in

Rochester, New York, has also had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. She remains reluctant to see elderly family members or otherwise socialize, but she recently spent nearly a full day

helping her son and his roommate move into an apartment. Heath didn't rely solely on the vaccine to keep her or those she interacted with safe: She wore a mask and kept her distance

from others, including the roommate's parents, who did not wear masks. If she had not been vaccinated, she would not have been comfortable being around others who were unmasked.

Courtesy Cora Shinaberry "I feel good that I got the vaccine,” she says. “I feel less anxious, more relaxed and a sense of relief that it's done." High school teacher Cora

Shinaberry, 65, of Austin, Texas, has returned to regular church services and volunteering to help the homeless, since she received her second vaccine dose. She's also doing gym

workouts and dining in restaurants. While Shinaberry doesn't feel invincible, the vaccine is giving her peace of mind. She's currently teaching students remotely but now looks

forward to their return to the classroom and has taken some steps to return to certain things she did before the pandemic upended the world. “I’ve continued to exercise outside every day,

and since getting the vaccine, I have returned to the YMCA for an exercise class and I am going back to church in person,” she says. “I feel like there is going to be a return to normal

life.”   Watch: Why You Should Stay Vigilant After the COVID Vaccine