CDC issues first guidance for vaccinated individuals

Fully vaccinated individuals can visit each other mask-free, according to the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On Monday, the agency released its first set of recommendations on activities that people who are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can safely resume. The guidelines include recommendations for how and when a fully vaccinated individual can visit with other people who are fully vaccinated and with other people who are not vaccinated.

According to the guidance, fully vaccinated people may visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or staying six feet apart and visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or staying six feet apart if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease. Additionally, vaccinated individuals may refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have symptoms after contact with someone who has COVID-19.

A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine. The CDC currently estimates 9.2 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use.

CDC representatives said in a statement that, while the new guidance is a positive step, the vast majority of people need to be fully vaccinated before COVID-19 precautions can be lifted broadly. Until then, they said it is important that everyone continues to adhere to public health mitigation measures to protect the large number of people who remain unvaccinated. This includes continued masking, social distancing, and travel requirements.

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