The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for fully vaccinated people and set out what they can do safely – including indoor, mask-free visits to other vaccinated people. CDC director Rochelle Walensky announced the much-anticipated leadership during a White House COVID-19 briefing on Monday.
According to the CDC, people who have been fully vaccinated can do the following:
- Visit with other people who are fully vaccinated, without masks or physical distance;
- Visits with non-vaccinated individuals from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distance; and
- Skip quarantine and test guidelines to a known exposure, if symptomatic.
According to the CDC, those vaccinated need to wear a face mask in public, and this still discourages non-essential travel. It is also said that vaccinated people should avoid medium and large gatherings for the time being, and that they should use preventative measures such as masks and distance when they are in various unsafe households. The CDC also still recommends testing if COVID-19 symptoms occur on their own.
“Science and the protection of public health should guide us as we begin to resume these activities,” Wolensky said. “Today’s action is an important first step. This is not our final destination. As more people are vaccinated, levels of COVID-19 infection in communities decrease, and as our understanding of COVID immunity improves, we see looking forward to updating these recommendations to the public. ”
According to the CDC, people are ‘completely vaccinated’ if two weeks have passed since they received the second Pfizer or Moderna shots or the single Johnson & Johnson shot. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is administered in one shot. This vaccine received emergency approvals from the Food and Drug Administration on February 27, and doses were distributed and administered early last week.
The lead comes when the country is at a crossroads in the fight against the virus. In the past month, the average daily incidence nationwide has dropped by more than 50%, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, but progress has been steady.
States across the country, including New York, Massachusetts and Arkansas, have dropped COVID-related restrictions on businesses, fearing the U.S. might abandon them too soon. Last week, Texas became the third state to revoke its nationwide mask mandate in recent days, joining Montana and Iowa.