The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a list of activities fully vaccinated people can do amid the pandemic.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they’ve received a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after getting one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The CDC’s list of approved activities include:
- Visiting with other fully vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distancing.
- Visiting unvaccinated people who are low risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms.
- Skipping quarantine and testing if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and remain asymptomatic.
Context
Over 30 million people in the United States — about 8% of the population — have received either two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, per The New York Times. For weeks, fully vaccinated Americans remained unsure about what they could or could not do, at least according to public health officials.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said the guidelines took some time to come out because “these are complex issues, and the science is rapidly evolving,” which influenced the delay in releasing new guidelines, according to The New York Times.
- “Our goal, and what is most important, is that people who have been vaccinated and those not yet vaccinated are able to understand the steps they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones,” she added. “We are making sure and taking the time to get this right.”