CDC Updates Its Mask Recommendations
America breathes a sigh of relief as it turns a new corner on the road to recovery from COVID-19
According to the CDC, if you are fully vaccinated you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. Infographic courtesy of the CDC.
May 13, 2021 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released a new statement relaxing the restrictions on wearing face masks for fully vaccinated people. The update states that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. It also states that fully vaccinated people can refrain from testing following a known exposure unless they are residents or employees of a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter.
Among other updates, the CDC: provided guiding
principles for fully vaccinated individuals; explained that
fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors
(except in certain crowded settings and venues); and
clarified that fully vaccinated folks, without symptoms, generally
are not restricted from work following exposure to a known or
suspected COVID-19 case.
Under the updated guidance, fully vaccinated people can:
Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without
wearing masks or physical distancing.
Visit with unvaccinated people (including children) from a
single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease
indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
Overview
Currently authorized vaccines in the United States are highly effective at protecting vaccinated people against symptomatic and severe COVID-19. Additionally, a growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection or transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. How long vaccine protection lasts and how much vaccines protect against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are still under investigation. Until more is known and vaccination coverage increases, some prevention measures will continue to be necessary in some settings for all people, regardless of vaccination status. However, the benefits of reducing social isolation and relaxing some measures such as quarantine requirements may outweigh the residual risk of fully vaccinated people becoming ill with COVID-19 or transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to others. Additionally, taking steps towards relaxing certain measures for vaccinated persons may help improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and upt
As of April 2: Fully vaccinated people can resume domestic travel and do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel. Fully vaccinated people do not need to get tested before leaving the United States (unless required by the destination) or self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States.
This set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of SARS-CoV-2, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines.
For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).†