CDC: Fully vaccinated people can travel safely
NEW YORK — Add travel to the activities vaccinated Americans can safely enjoy again, according to new U.S. guidance issued Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting tested for the coronavirus or going into quarantine afterward.
Still, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged caution and said she would “advocate against general travel overall” given the rising number of infections.
“If you are vaccinated, it is lower risk,” she said.
According to the CDC, more than 100 million people in the U.S. — or about 30% of the population — have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose.
For people who haven’t been fully vaccinated, the CDC is sticking to its recommendation to avoid unnecessary travel.
If they do travel, the agency says to get tested one to three days before the trip, and three to five days after.
People should also stay home and quarantine for seven days after travel, even if their COVID-19 test is negative, the agency says.
According to data through Thursday from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is averaging 66,000 daily new cases this past week, up from 55,000 two weeks ago. The U.S recently passed 30 million confirmed infections
For international travel, the agency says vaccinated people do not need to get a COVID-19 test before leaving, unless the destination country requires it.
Although traffic remains down by nearly half from a year ago, more than 1 million travelers daily have been going through U.S. airports in recent weeks.