New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely visit with other vaccines.
Video transcription
– The CDC announces to the public the initial guidance that, for the first time, some activities are set out that are considered safe for those who have been fully vaccinated. When I say that it is completely vaccinated, I mean people who are two weeks after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Before I talk about the specific recommendations, I want to underline some important points. First, robust clinical trial data show that current COVID-19 vaccines are very effective in protecting vaccines against serious diseases, hospitalization, or the death of COVID-19. However, there is still a small risk that vaccinated people can be infected with a mild or asymptomatic disease and the virus may also be transmitted to others who are not vaccinated. The magnitude of this risk in vaccines and the risk of transmitting the virus to others who have not been vaccinated is an ongoing area of research.
Secondly, it is important to note that this is initial guidance. The science of COVID-19 is complex and our understanding of the virus continues to evolve rapidly. The recommendations issued today are just a first step. As more people are vaccinated and science and evidence expand and as the disease dynamics in this country change, we will continue to update this guidance.
It is important that our guidance balances the risk for people who have been fully vaccinated, the risks for those who have not yet received the vaccine, and the impact on the greater transmission of COVID-19 in the community with what we all recognize as the overall benefits. from resuming everyday activities and returning to some of the things we love in life. Against this background and the current state of the pandemic, we have developed these new recommendations.
With today’s initial guidance, it’s important to note that we can resume focusing on activities that can be fully vaccinated in two situations in private institutions such as their homes. The first scenario is that people who have been fully vaccinated along with others are fully vaccinated. In this slide, these individuals are represented by green-green circles. In this scenario, the CDC recommends that people who have been fully vaccinated, along with other people who have been fully vaccinated, visit soon without wearing masks or physical distance.
Remember here, we are talking about private institutions where everyone is vaccinated. What does that mean then? If you and a friend or you and a family member have both been vaccinated, you can eat dinner together and wear masks without removing. You can visit your grandparents if you have been vaccinated and they were also vaccinated.
Now I want to talk to you about another more complicated scenario. It involves vaccinating people who are not vaccinated. If people who have been fully vaccinated go along with non-vaccinated, we need to take into account the underlying risks of the people who have not been vaccinated and any members who have not been vaccinated. We follow this approach because all our guidance is rooted in making sure we keep people safe.
The CDC therefore recommends that people who have been fully vaccinated go indoors with inexperienced people from another household, without wearing masks or physical distance, as long as the people who have not been vaccinated and any members who have not been vaccinated not, have a high risk for severe COVID-19 disease. In the slide, people who have been vaccinated and are at low risk for severe COVID-19 are indicated by orange circles. This means that none of the non-vaccinated or any members of their households who are not vaccinated are an adult over 65 or have an underlying condition such as cancer or heart disease or diabetes that increases their risk of COVID-19 related hospitalization can not increase. or death.
Here is an example. If grandparents are vaccinated, they can visit their daughter and her family, even if they have not been vaccinated yet, as long as the daughter and her family are not at risk for serious illnesses. These are solid orange circles. Second, if a non-vaccinated individual or a non-vaccinated member is at high risk for serious diseases, as shown here by hollow orange circles, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, should still wear a mask and carry body distance and choose to assemble a well-ventilated space outside or outside. It is recommended to keep individuals at high risk who have not been vaccinated safe. Similarly, if fully vaccinated people come along with non-vaccinated from multiple households, everyone should wear masks and come at a physical distance and gather in a well-ventilated outdoor space.
Go over to quarantine, away from visit. In addition to these new recommendations on visits to private institutions, CDC’s new guidance also recommends that people who have been fully vaccinated should not be quarantined or tested after a known exposure to someone with COVID-19, as long as they are asymptomatic. At present, the CDC is not adjusting the current guidance on travel. We believe that these new recommendations are an important first step in our efforts to resume everyday activities in our communities.
However, we remain in the midst of a serious pandemic. And yet, more than 90% of our population is not fully vaccinated, even though we are working hard on it. Therefore, everyone, regardless of whether they are vaccinated, should continue to avoid medium and large gatherings as well as unimportant trips, and if they are in public spaces, we should follow a well-equipped mask, at a physical distance, and other public health measures. follow to protect themselves and others.