Doctor explains why nothing has changed with the vaccine 0:53
(CNN) -
New guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that people fully vaccinated against covid-19 can safely visit other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people. in some circumstances, but important safety precautions are still needed.
The guidelines were announced at the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Monday.
“Covid-19 continues to exert a tremendous cost on our nation.
Like you, I want to be able to get back to everyday activities and get involved with our friends, families and communities, ”CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at the White House in a briefing Monday.
“Science and the protection of public health should guide us as we begin to resume these activities.
Today's action represents an important first step.
It is not our final destination.
"As more people get vaccinated, COVID-19 infection levels decline in communities and our understanding of COVID immunity improves, we look forward to updating these recommendations to the public."
Doctor explains why nothing has changed with the vaccine 0:53
The CDC defines fully vaccinated people as those who are two weeks past their second dose of Moderna and Pfizer vaccine or two weeks after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There is growing evidence that people who are vaccinated do not transmit COVID-19, but scientists are still trying to understand how long the protection of the vaccine lasts.
"The level of precautions to be taken should be determined by the characteristics of the unvaccinated people, who remain unprotected against Covid-19," the guidelines said.
The new CDC guidance says that fully vaccinated people can:
Visiting other vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distance
Visiting unvaccinated people in a single household indoors without masks or physical distance, if unvaccinated people are at low risk of serious disease.
Skip quarantine and testing if you are exposed to someone who has COVID-19 but is asymptomatic, but should monitor symptoms for 14 days
However, people who are fully vaccinated still need to take precautions in many settings.
advertising
LOOK: What measures should those who are already vaccinated take?
The guidelines say that fully vaccinated people should:
Wearing a mask and keeping a good physical distance around unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19, or if the unvaccinated person has a family member who is at increased risk.
Wear masks and physical distance when visiting unvaccinated people from multiple households.
In addition, fully vaccinated individuals should follow basic safety precautions, including: wearing a well-fitting mask and maintaining physical distance in public;
avoid medium and large crowds;
avoid poorly ventilated public spaces;
Wash hands frequently;
and get tested for covid-19 if they feel sick.
The guidelines say that the risk of infection in social activities such as going to the gym or restaurant is lower for fully vaccinated people, however, people should still take precautions as the risk of transmission in these settings is higher and increases the more not vaccinated there are.
The CDC travel recommendations have not changed for the unvaccinated.
The guidelines still say that with a high number of cases, the CDC recommends that you not travel at this time.
"The benefits of reducing physical isolation and relaxing some measures, such as quarantine requirements, may outweigh the residual risk of fully vaccinated people becoming ill with COVID-19 or transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to other people," they said. the guidelines.
"There are several activities that fully vaccinated people can now resume, with low risk to themselves, while being aware of the potential risk of transmitting the virus to others."
There are now 30 million people in the United States who are fully vaccinated, but the US still averages more than 60,000 cases per day for the past seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University.
"We continue to have high levels of virus across the country, and now more easily transmissible variants have been confirmed in almost every state, as we work to rapidly vaccinate more people each day, we have to get there," Walensky said Monday.
Let's stick together.
Keep wearing a mask that fits you well and take the other public health measures that we know work to help stop the spread of this virus.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report.
