The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release guidance this week – possibly as early as Thursday – on activities that are considered safe for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
But while much of the country longs for some return to normality, guidance is unlikely to provide a satisfactory sample of it. People who are fully vaccinated will be advised to continue to adhere to most public health measures, such as wearing a mask and physical distance in most locations. Although they are given the green light for limited social gatherings, they must be kept small and at home, and should include only other fully vaccinated adults, according to the first reports.
At a news conference on Monday, infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci gave an example:
I use the example of a daughter who comes from another city who is doubly vaccinated, and a husband and wife who is doubly vaccinated, and maybe a neighbor who you know is doubly vaccinated. In small meetings at people’s homes, I think you can clearly feel that the risk – the relative risk – is so low that you wouldn’t have to wear a mask, that you could have a good social gathering indoors. In addition, it will be based on a combination of data, a combination of modeling and a combination of clinical judgment.
The orientation will present other scenarios and considerations for socializing, as well as traveling.
Two senior Biden government officials working on the orientation told Politico that the recommendations will follow closely the recent advice from CDC director Rochelle Walensky, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain health measures at this tenuous point in the pandemic.
“Critical nexus”
“Now, more than ever, we must do everything we can to prevent the virus from spreading,” Walensky told a news conference on Wednesday. She begged Americans to continue wearing masks, staying two meters away from each other, avoiding crowds and avoiding travel.
“Today, we are at a critical juncture in the pandemic,” warned Walensky. After new cases of COVID-19 plummeted for weeks, they have now stopped at high levels, she noted.
“So much can change in the coming weeks,” she said. “On the one hand, the cases in the country are stabilizing at rates close to the potential for resurgence and the hyper-transmissible variant B.1.1.7 is ready to hijack our successes so far. And, on the other hand, resistance has run out, fatigue is winning and the exact measures we have taken to stop the pandemic are now being blatantly ignored ”.
Many states in recent days have eased restrictions. Massachusetts, for example, lifted capacity restrictions in restaurants. Iowa, Mississippi, Montana and Texas, among others, have suspended the masks’ mandates.
Walensky addressed the Americans directly. “Whether they are mandatory or not … we can still take the right public health measures to protect ourselves and others.”