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Fully-vaccinated people in the US are allowed to gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a face mask or social distancing, according to the latest guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday.
People who have received all doses of their vaccine will also be able to meet unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or social distancing, provided everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease. In other words, vaccinated grandparents should be able to visit healthy children and grandchildren under the latest guidance.
However, the CDC stressed that everyone – including vaccinated people – should continue wearing a mask and attempt to stay 2 meters (~6 feet) apart from others in public. They also suggest vaccinated people should not travel afar, both within the US and internationally, and they should avoid medium- and large-sized gatherings.
For the full updated guidelines, visit here.
“We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love,” Rochelle P. Walensky, Director of the CDC, said in a statement released on Monday March 8.
“There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in their own homes. Everyone – even those who are vaccinated – should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings. As the science evolves and more people get vaccinated, we will continue to provide more guidance to help fully vaccinated people safely resume more activities,” she added.
A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, but the recently approved Johnson & Johnson only requires a single-dose. According to the CDC’s latest estimates, just 9.2 percent of the US has been fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC argues their latest guidance is backed up by the latest scientific research. While further research is needed, early studies indicate that fully vaccinated people are less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others.
The story is still developing and we will update it in due course.
For more information about COVID-19, check out the IFLScience Covid-19 hub where you can follow the current state of the pandemic, the progress of vaccine development, and further insights into the disease.
