Pharmaceutical Madeline Acquilano inoculates public school security officer Victor Rodriguez with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 3, 2021.
Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty Images
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new guideline on Monday for people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a highly anticipated measure as the country tries to return to normal after almost a year of restrictions due to the pandemic.
“There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in the privacy of their own homes. Everyone – even those who are vaccinated – must continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a statement.
According to the guidance, fully vaccinated people can safely visit other fully vaccinated people and some non-vaccinated people inside the home, without using a mask or social distance, according to the guidance. Someone is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after a single injection of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two weeks after the second injection of Moderna or Pfizer two-dose regimens.
Approximately 58.9 million people in the United States received at least one injection, with 30.7 million of those receiving two doses, just over 9% of the country’s population, according to the CDC, which does not share which vaccine people received.
People who are fully inoculated can also visit unvaccinated people from a single home, without wearing masks or social distance, as long as they have a low risk of serious 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 distance, as long as none of the unvaccinated family members are at risk of serious COVID-19,” according with the guidance of the CDC.
Fully vaccinated people do not need to be quarantined or tested for Covid-19 if exposed to someone with the virus, as long as they have no symptoms, the agency advises. However, if a vaccinated person begins to show symptoms, they should isolate themselves and have the Covid-19 test.
There are still some activities that people who are fully vaccinated cannot yet perform, warns the CDC. Vaccinated Americans should still avoid face-to-face meetings of medium and large size, and should also continue to wear face masks and social distance when in public.
If a vaccinated person is visiting someone who is at risk of serious illness and has not been vaccinated, they should still wear a mask, keep a distance of 1.8 m and try to visit abroad when possible, says the agency.
While a growing body of evidence suggests that people who are vaccinated against Covid-19 are less likely to transmit the disease to others, it is not yet known how long someone’s protection can last or the effectiveness of vaccines against emerging variants of Covid-19, the CDC said in a statement.
“Although the new guideline is a positive step, many more people need to be fully vaccinated before everyone can stop taking most of the COVID-19 precautions,” said the CDC. “It is important that, until then, everyone continues to adhere to important mitigation measures to protect the large number of people who remain unvaccinated.”