CDC guidelines: Reference sheet on what you can do after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine

As vaccinations continue to be implemented, the Centers for Disease Control recently released guidelines on what people can do after they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks since you received your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks since you received your Johnson & Johnson single dose injection.

Life may soon begin to appear normal, but just because you have been vaccinated does not mean that you can get out of control, living in the pre-pandemic style.

Here’s a quick guide to what you can – and still can’t – after being vaccinated, according to the CDC:

Socializing

Can I see my friends and family when I am fully vaccinated?
Yea! Don’t have a big party with everyone you know, but the CDC admits that socializing becomes much safer when vaccines are involved. The guidelines differ based on the fact that the people you want to see are also vaccinated.

• With vaccinated people, you can meet indoors without masks
• With unvaccinated people, you can meet indoors without masks with members of a single family – as long as none of your unvaccinated friends / family is at high risk. This means that you still want to avoid seeing elderly people who are not vaccinated or have underlying diseases that would make a potential COVID-19 infection particularly serious, just to be safer.

What about big meetings?
The CDC is still discouraging medium and large meetings, even if you are fully vaccinated.

And hugs?
This is where your personal comfort with risk comes into play, but the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to two fully vaccinated people is almost zero, so hugging should be very safe. When one person is vaccinated and the other is low risk, hugging is also low risk with members of the same family.

Masking

Should I wear a mask if I am still vaccinated?
Vaccination does not exempt you from local and state laws on the use of masks or facial covers in public. Although the CDC says you can socialize with members of the same household indoors and without a mask, the agency still suggests wearing a mask when you are around many people, in public or doing errands.

You should continue to use a face mask or cover, in addition to practicing the 1.8m spacing when:

• Socializing with people from more than one house indoors
• Visiting people at high risk for COVID-19 and not vaccinated
• In public

Travel

Can I travel now that I am fully vaccinated?
The CDC also suggests avoiding unnecessary domestic and international travel. Many countries are still banning the entry of American citizens.

If you have to travel, you will still need to follow all restrictions in place, such as wearing a mask at an airline or taking a PCR test before you arrive (depending on your destination).

Quarantine

Do I need to be quarantined if I am exposed to COVID-19?
If you come into contact with someone who has COVID-19 and is fully vaccinated, you will no longer need to quarantine if you have no symptoms.

If you start to have symptoms, you should quarantine and get tested, says the CDC.

See the full CDC guidelines here.