CDC: Fully Vaccinated Can Stop ‘Wearing A Mask or Physical Distancing’ In Most Circumstances

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced changes for its mask guidance on Thursday afternoon, saying people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can cease physical distancing and mask wearing in most situations. 

Under the new guidance, the CDC says Americans who have been fully vaccinated — those who received their final dose more than 14 days prior — don’t need to wear masks for most indoor or outdoor activities. DC Director Dr. Rochelle Walesnky said the guidance update reflects new data and scientific literature. 

“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” Dr. Walesnky told reporters in a virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that we have stopped doing because of the pandemic.”

The CDC’s recommendations only apply to people who have been fully vaccinated, and don’t apply when inside of homeless shelters, corrections centers, health care facilities or in places where masks are required by law. Walensky also said immunocompromised people should consult with their physician on what they should do first. 

She also warned “there is always a chance we may need to make a change to these recommendations” if things were to get worse. “But we know that the more people are vaccinated, the less cases we will have, and the less chance of a new spike or additional variants emerging,” she said. 

The CDC director cited several recent scientific studies, including one from Israel that showed vaccinated healthcare workers experienced “97% effectiveness against symptomatic” COVID-19 cases and 86% effectiveness against asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. 

“In the United States, vaccines were 90% effective against any infection in nearly 4,000 health care workers, and 94% effective against hospitalizations from COVID-19 in an evaluation across 24 hospitals in 14 states,” said Walesnky of two other recent studies. 

Data shows that when vaccinated people are infected with COVID-19, said Walesnky. She also said that they have shorter infection times and have a smaller risk of infecting other people. 

According to the CDC, nearly 60% of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. Furthermore, more than 117 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated, a figure representing 37% of the population.

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