#15,960
Over the past several months, as the number of vaccinated Americans has increased, the CDC has released revised and increasingly relaxed interim guidance on mask wearing and social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated (see here and here).
Yesterday, with 1/3rd of all Americans fully vaccinated, they removed most - but not all - of the recommendations for mask wearing indoors by those fully vaccinated. Face masks will still be required on public transportation, in some stores and workplaces, and in healthcare environments.
While the mask mandate has been hugely unpopular in some circles, and public health likely hopes the `reward' of being able to go maskless will entice more people to get vaccinated, there are a number of factors that will determine whether this latest relaxation of precautions is prudent, or premature, and we probably won't know the answers to any of them for several months.
- Whether unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people will continue to wear facemasks as recommended
- How well current vaccines will protect against the newer variants
- How long current vaccines provide protection against current and future COVID variants
This guidance, like all issued by the CDC, is subject to revision. If conditions change, so will their recommendations.
I've reproduced the CDC's latest recommendations below. I'll have a brief postscript after the break.
When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated
How to Protect Yourself and Others
Updated May 13, 2021
If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.
Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?
In general, people are considered fully vaccinated: ±If you don’t meet these requirements, regardless of your age, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
- 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
- 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
If you have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may NOT be fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. Talk to your healthcare provider. Even after vaccination, you may need to continue taking all precautions.
What You Can Start to Do
If you’ve been fully vaccinated:What You Should Keep Doing
- You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
- You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
- If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
- You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
- You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
- You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
- You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
- You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
- If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
- However, if you live or work in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:What We Know
- You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace and local businesses.
- If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested within 3 days of their flight (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
- You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
- People who have a condition or are taking medications that weaken the immune system, should talk to their healthcare provider to discuss their activities. They may need to keep taking all precautions to prevent COVID-19.
What We’re Still Learning
- COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
- COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of people spreading COVID-19.
As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
- How effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
- How well the vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications.
- How long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
While based on current data on the effectiveness of our COVID vaccines, this is still basically an experiment on a national level, with an uncertain outcome.
I suspect there are going to be some fully vaccinated individuals (including myself) who are going to be reluctant to immediately ditch indoor mask wearing - particularly those of us over 65 or those with chronic medical conditions - until we see how things go over the next few months.
Hopefully we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and life really can return to `normal' soon. But we do need to be prepared to pivot if things don't go as planned.
