CDC issues guidance stating vaccinated people can visit vaccinated and low risk people without masks

The first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people has been released by the CDC.

According to CDC’s update guidance, fully vaccinated people now can:

•Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
•Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
•Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic

For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:

•Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
•Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
•Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
•Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
•Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
•Follow guidance issued by individual employers
•Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations

The recommendations apply to non-healthcare settings.

People are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen ).

How long vaccine protection lasts and how much vaccines protect against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are still under investigation.