The Pennsylvania Department of Health has amended its mask mandate and updated the guidelines for residents who have been fully vaccinated to comply with federal guidelines, officials said Monday.
An earlier state order went into effect that loosened mask restrictions in certain circumstances.
“The vaccines currently available in the state and country are very effective,” Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said in a statement, noting that early research has shown that the vaccines can prevent asymptomatic infection and the likelihood of that one can spread the virus, reduce.
“However, there is still more to learn about how long protection lasts and how many vaccines are protected against new variants of the virus,” Beam said. ‘Some preventative measures will therefore continue for all people, regardless of their vaccination. ”
According to the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated people can:
- Visit with other people who have been fully vaccinated, without wearing masks or physically distancing themselves.
- Visit those not vaccinated from a single household who are at low risk for severe symptoms without masks or physical distance, and refrain from quarantine and testing after a known exposure as long as they remain asymptomatic.
Beam said it is important that those who are fully vaccinated continue to follow the guidelines if they are in unvaccinated people who are at higher risk for serious diseases or have a household member who is at increased risk.
Guidelines still recommend getting meetings of more than a few people together and require a mask and physical distance when in public. Anyone with symptoms should still be tested, Beam said.
People are considered fully vaccinated if they are outside the second dose in a two-shot series for two weeks or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.
Across the state, more than 1.5 million people are vaccinated against covid-19 and nearly 2.9 million are partially vaccinated. Suppliers administered 4.3 million doses.
As of Saturday, 24,789 people in Pennsylvania have died from the virus since the pandemic began. More than 988,000 people across the country have contracted the virus since March last year.
Megan Guza is a staff writer for Tribune Review. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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