The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is finalizing guidance aimed at explaining what Americans have received Covid-19 vaccines should and should not, according to two sources of the agency familiar with setting it up.
The forthcoming guidance, first reported by Politico, is expected to include that individuals who have been fully vaccinated can meet in small groups with other people who also need to be vaccinated. The CDC does not currently recommend personal meetings with the general public, saying: “the fact that it is virtually or with the people you live with is the safest choice.”
Even for people who have been fully vaccinated, other mitigation measures will still be recommended, including wearing a mask in public and social distance.
A CDC source familiar with the guidelines confirmed it would not be released Thursday. There was no word on when it would be released.
At the White House COVID-19 response briefing, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, an example of the guidance given by saying that small gatherings among people who are “double vaccinated” have a low risk – ‘so low that you have to wear a mask so that you can have a cozy visit in the house have. ‘
Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses; Johnson & Johnson‘s only need one shot. That vaccine received emergency approvals from the food and drug administration over the weekend and the doses are being administered this 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. In the past week, data from the CDC indicate that the average new cases recorded almost 2%.
The CDC director, dr. Rochelle Walensky, during Monday’s briefing, said she “remains deeply concerned about a possible shift in the trajectory of the pandemic.” States across the country, including New York, Massachusetts and Arkansas, are loosening COVID-related restrictions on businesses, adding to fears that the U.S. will fail too soon. On Tuesday, Texas became the third state to revoke its nationwide mask mandate in recent days, joining Montana and Iowa.
At the same time, the rate of vaccinations continues to increase, and with more Americans being vaccinated, the need for new guidance on what this population can do safely has increased. But Walensky stressed that this is not the time to start traveling again or disregard other safety measures.
“The goal in the first 100 days has always been to make sure we’re in a place to be outside of this pandemic,” she said. “At 70,000 cases a day, we are not currently in that place.”