People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have no symptoms do not need to be in quarantine if they are exposed to someone with the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidelines released today . They still need to follow other guidelines for public health, such as wearing a mask.
Someone is considered fully vaccinated if more than two weeks have elapsed since receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or a single-dose dose.
As for points of sale to be vaccinated, you will no longer have to quarantine after a COVID exposure, it can be quite strong https://t.co/RODB8pyNL5
– Ed MD (@notdred) 10 February 2021
Even the best vaccines are not the perfect protection against COVID-19. The Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines, the two so far authorized in the United States, are about 95 percent effective in protecting against symptomatic diseases. This means that there are a small number of people who are vaccinated, who can still get sick. According to the CDC, people who are not in quarantine should still be on the lookout for symptoms and tested if they experience them.
Researchers do not yet know how long the protection against the vaccines will last. The CDC therefore says that people should first skip quarantine during the three months after their last dose. This is the duration of pharmaceutical companies that tracked people enrolled in their clinical trials. This may change as companies have more time to collect and analyze data.
The guidelines are similar to those for people who have already been sick with COVID-19 and presumably have some natural immunity. If someone is within three months of their initial infection, they also do not need to be quarantined unless they develop symptoms.
Scientists are not yet sure if people who are vaccinated can spread the coronavirus to others. Research is underway, and there should be clearer answers soon. However, based on what we know about vaccinations and viral infections, there is a good chance that someone who has been vaccinated is less contagious if they have an asymptomatic infection. For the CDC, the benefits of minimizing quarantines outweigh the potential, probably small risk of viral spread.
More than 33 million people in the US have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.