CDC mask guidance issued for vaccinated
New rules ease restrictions for visiting family members
Fully vaccinated individuals have new recommendations from federal health officials when it comes to mask-wearing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals Monday. Individuals are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
According to the new guidance, fully vaccinated individuals can now gather indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing if they are with other people who have been fully vaccinated. They can also gather indoors without wearing a mask with unvaccinated individuals from one other household as long as the unvaccinated individuals are considered to be low-risk for a severe COVID illness.
“While today’s updated guidance from the CDC is a welcome sign in the fight against the pandemic, it is important to remember that these recommendations are limited to individuals who are fully vaccinated,” said Dr. Debra Powell, chief of the division of infectious disease and medical director of infection prevention at Reading Hospital. “Wearing a mask and social distancing are still encouraged for those individuals when they are in public or need to interact with individuals outside their household who have not yet received the vaccine.”
Fully vaccinated individuals also no longer need to stay away from others or get tested for COVID-19 after having been around someone who has COVID-19 unless they start to experience symptoms.
The Associated Press reported the new guidance was done in response to more individuals being fully vaccinated and wondering if they now have greater freedom to take part in activities they had done before the pandemic, such as visiting family members and traveling.
All other prior CDC guidance remains for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. This includes wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces while in public, gathering with unvaccinated individuals from more than one household, or when visiting with an unvaccianted individual who has or lives with someone who has an increased risk for a severe COVID illness.
The CDC also recommends all individuals:
• Avoid medium or large gatherings.
• Delay domestic and international travel, and in the case of necessary travel the individual needs to follow CDC requirements and recommendations.
• Watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if around someone who is sick.
• Stay home, away from others and get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• Need to continue to follow guidance at their workplace.
“The new guidance from the CDC shows that vaccinations are working, and we encourage everyone who is able to get vaccinated to do so as soon as they have the opportunity,” said Penn State Health through its marketing and communications office. “We also want to reiterate that while there is light at the end of the tunnel, the pandemic is not over yet. We need everyone to continue to follow CDC guidance for mitigation such as frequent hand washing, masking and social distancing when necessary.”
According to the CDC, these other prevention steps are known to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and are still important even with vaccines being distributed. Stopping the spread of the virus will bring an end to the pandemic.
“I recommend everyone in the community get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them so we can reduce the presence of COVID-19 in our community,” Powell said. “With the release of the new guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, and continuing to follow precautions while vaccine administration continues, I am optimistic that we could continue to see a decrease in individuals becoming infected with COVID-19.”