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It’s a baby’s move towards normalcy, now that more shots are being fired than ever before: the CDC on Monday issued new guidelines with greater freedoms for people who have been fully vaccinated. The rules parents would probably like to see their grandchildren in person for the first time in a year or so – provided they live nearby. Some of the highlights:
- Who qualifies: Those who have been fully vaccinated are those who have received it both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, as CNN notes, people are only considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their final shot.
- Visits: The CDC says it is safe for these people to hang out indoors with people who have not been vaccinated from a single household without wearing masks or social distances. Washington Post. But long-distance travel is still discouraged, and such visits should not take place if one of the unvaccinated people is at risk of having serious illnesses.
- Example: “Grandparents who are fully vaccinated can go indoors with their non-vaccinated healthy daughter and her healthy children without wearing masks or physical distance, provided none of the non-vaccinated family members are at risk of serious COVID-19, “said the CDC, according to NBC News.
- Meetings: The fully vaccinated can be fully vaccinated indoors with others without wearing masks.
- Unchanged: These people still need to take the usual precautions to wear a mask and take social distance during meetings with unvaccinated people from multiple households, or if they are close to people at higher risk, according to the AP. They should continue to avoid medium and large groups, poorly ventilated indoor spaces and domestic and international travel.
- Exposure: If exposed to someone who has COVID, the fully vaccinated does not need to be self-quarantined or to be tested unless it has symptoms.
- A Reward: Former acting CDC chief, dr. Richard Besser, welcomes the new guidelines. “It opens the door for grandparents to meet their children and grandchildren without masks indoors, for a nice group hug,” he tells NBC.
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