CDC Releases Guidelines on Safe Activities for Fully Vaccinated Individuals

Individuals who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 can gather indoors with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask, but should still take safety precautions, according to new guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Further, those who have been fully vaccinated can gather indoors with unvaccinated individuals from one household without masks, unless any of those individuals or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. And if the fully vaccinated individual has been around someone who has COVID-19, they do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless they have symptoms.

According to the agency, someone is considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

Still, the CDC recommends those who have been fully vaccinated take steps to protect themselves and others in many situations by wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Such precautions should be taken when the individual is in public, gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household, or visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or who lives with a person at increased risk.

Despite being fully vaccinated, individuals should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings, delay domestic and international travel, and watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if they’ve been around someone who is sick.