Pharmacist Madeline Acquilano inoculates public school safety officer Victor Rodriguez with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 3, 2021.
Joseph Precious | AFP | Getty Images
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines Monday for people who have been completely vaccinated against Covid-19, a highly anticipated step as the nation tries to return to normalcy after nearly a year of pandemic restrictions.
“There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can now resume in the privacy of their own homes. Everyone – even those who are vaccinated – should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public,” the director said. CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a statement.
According to the guide, fully vaccinated people can safely visit with other fully vaccinated people and some unvaccinated people indoors, without wearing masks or social distances, according to the guide. Someone is considered fully vaccinated every two weeks, either after a single shot of the new Johnson & Johnson-authorized vaccine, or two weeks after the second shot of the Moderna or Pfizer two-dose regimens.
About 58.9 million people in the United States received at least one shot with 30.7 million of those people who received two doses, just over 9% of the nation’s population, according to the CDC, which does not describe what vaccine people received.
People who are completely inoculated can also visit unvaccinated people from a single household without wearing masks or social distance, as long as they have a low risk of severe illness, says the CDC.
“For example, fully vaccinated grandparents can visit indoors with their unvaccinated healthy daughter and healthy children without wearing masks or physical distances, provided none of the unvaccinated family members are at risk for severe COVID-19,” according to the CDC guide. .
Fully vaccinated individuals should not be quarantined or tested for Covid-19 if they are exposed to the virus as long as they are asymptomatic, the agency recommends. However, if a vaccinated person starts to show symptoms, they should be isolated and tested for Covid-19.
There are still some activities that fully vaccinated people cannot do yet, the CDC warns. Vaccinated Americans should, however, avoid medium-sized and large personal gatherings, and should also continue to wear face masks and social distances when in public.
If a vaccinated person visits someone who is at risk for severe illness and is unvaccinated, they should continue to wear a mask, keep a distance of 6 feet, and try to visit outside when possible, the agency says.
While a growing body of evidence suggests that people who are inoculated against Covid-19 are less likely to pass the disease on to others, it is not yet known how long it would take to protect someone or the effectiveness of shots against emerging variants of Covid-19. , The CDC said in a statement.
While the new guidance is a positive step, many more people need to be fully vaccinated before everyone stops taking most of the COVID-19 precautions, the CDC said. “It is important that, by then, everyone adheres to important mitigation measures to protect the large number of people who remain unvaccinated.”