The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that physical distancing requirements and masks were no longer necessary for those who are fully vaccinated. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday.” We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.” The updated recommendations come as the pandemic outlook continues to improve in the country and as evidence mounts that COVID-19 vaccines offer protection in real-world situations, according to Walensky.
It’s Thursday morning in a cavernous ballroom at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park. Tori Hood, an emergency room nurse with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, is here at this pop-up clinic vaccinating some of the first kids in the state newly eligible for Pfizer’s two-dose COVID-19 regimen. “Alright, Emma,” Hood calls out to a group of triplets all waiting to get their first shots. “Are you fine with your left arm as well, hon?” “Yes, I am,” 15-year-old Emma Linscott says as she takes a seat and rolls up her sleeve. She’s the second of her siblings to get the jab.