Dr. Huerta analyzes new guide on the use of masks 2:32
(CNN) -
In its gradual return to normalcy, the United States took another step forward this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new guide on activities Tuesday that fully vaccinated Americans can safely enjoy without a mask.
The agency said fully vaccinated people can remove the mask in small outdoor gatherings or when dining out with friends from various households - activities that the CDC says require unvaccinated people to continue to wear a mask.
But some experts say the new guidance is too cautious and does not offer a strong enough incentive for Americans who are still undecided about getting a vaccine or who have not been wearing a mask outdoors.
"It's not enough," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN Tuesday night.
"What it doesn't really underscore for Americans is what the CDC knows, which is that these vaccines induce immunity."
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Read about the new CDC guide here
About 42.7% of the US population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, CDC data shows, and more than 29% of the population is fully vaccinated.
The CDC defines fully vaccinated people as those who have passed at least two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or at least two weeks after the single dose from Johnson & Johnson.
"If you tell people that they can do almost anything if they are vaccinated, that's telling people that you have confidence in vaccines," Reiner said.
But what is the message for the country when you tell people who are fully vaccinated 'Be careful with crowded places'?
You are questioning the efficacy of the vaccine.
And I don't think there is any doubt about the efficacy of these vaccines.
What officials say about the guide
Government and CDC officials say the vaccines are extremely effective.
But they say there is still good reason to be cautious, as the country still reports a staggeringly high number of daily COVID-19 cases and tens of millions of Americans remain unvaccinated and unprotected.
"I don't think the CDC's job is to say, 'Hey, let's create an incentive that makes people want to get vaccinated.'
I think your job is to play it safe and make the right decision, "White House senior covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told CNN on Tuesday.
And there are education efforts underway, Slavitt said, reaching out to local communities and providing information about vaccines for Americans still trying to make up their minds.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a COVID-19 briefing at the White House that while outdoor activities for vaccinated people are generally safe without a mask, the agency continues to recommend wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings, such as packed stadiums, where distancing may not be possible and where there may also be many unvaccinated Americans.
Should I continue to wear a mask outdoors?
"We will continue to recommend this until widespread vaccination is achieved," Walensky said Tuesday.
The CDC says that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people should wear masks in closed public spaces, such as shopping malls, movie theaters or museums.
"Although these vaccines are extremely effective, we know that the virus spreads very well indoors," Walensky said during the briefing.
"Until more people are vaccinated and while we still have more than 50,000 cases a day, wearing masks indoors will provide additional protection."
When can we get rid of masks indoors?
As more Americans get vaccinated, guidelines are likely to continue to open up, including the issue of mask use in enclosed spaces, Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Chief Health Officer, told CNN.
Right now, there is still a large part of the country that remains unvaccinated, Murthy said, and there are still high levels of the spread of the virus, so it is best if both vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans continue to cover themselves indoors, he said. Murthy.
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"It's still a lower risk if you're vaccinated than if you're not, in terms of indoor activities," Murthy said.
But we want people to wear masks.
But again, the more people are vaccinated, the cases will decrease and that will also begin to change.
What do the covid-19 case numbers look like?
On Tuesday, Walensky reported a number of encouraging trends in covid-19 numbers.
In the past seven days, the US has averaged more than 53,600 new COVID-19 cases a day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day case average is now down more than 20% from the previous week, he said.
The average of seven days of hospitalizations is also down (about 9%) from the previous week.
And the weekly average of deaths also fell.
But the US still reports hundreds of COVID-19 deaths every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Reflecting Tuesday on the feeling of "impending doom" he said he felt in late March about where the country was headed, Walensky said the country's curve is stabilizing and falling.
“As I see more vaccines reaching people's arms, more and more people are willing to do it, confidence increases, and then I compare that to cases that are starting to stabilize, plateau and go down… we should be in good shape, "he said.
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A covid-19 pill could be ready this year
Pfizer tests antiviral pill against covid-19 0:34
Meanwhile, as more COVID-19 vaccines reach American arms every day, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he hopes that an antiviral pill the company is developing to treat COVID-19 may also be ready. for authorization later this year.
Pfizer began Phase 1 trials, the first phase of testing a new drug in people, in March.
Bourla told CNBC on Tuesday that having a pill to treat Covid-19 would offer many benefits.
"One of them is that you don't have to go to the hospital for treatment," he said.
"That could change the rules of the game."
Other coronavirus treatments should be infused, such as the antiviral Remdesivir and monoclonal antibodies.
In addition, the drug could be combined with other classes of antivirals to fight the virus, an approach that transformed HIV treatment more than 20 years ago.
That could help the drugs fight even mutated variants of the virus, Bourla said.
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"That leads us to believe that it will be much more effective against multiple variants," he said.
To apply for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization, Pfizer must put the drug through three phases of clinical trials and show that it is safe and effective.
"We will have more news during the summer," he said.
CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.
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