Vaccinated People Can Skip Quarantine, Must Still Wear Masks In Certain Situations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new guidelines and regulations when it comes to those who have received both doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or the single dose of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

There have been more than 90 million vaccine doses administered since mid-December, according to federal data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 2.2 million Americans are getting vaccinated each day.

The guidelines for those who have been vaccinated have been somewhat unclear. On Monday, the COVID-19 Response Team at the White House held a briefing session to provide an explanation.

"Covid-19 continues to exert a tremendous toll on our nation. Like you, I want to be able to return to everyday activities and engage with our friends, families, and communities," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday. "Science, and the protection of public health must guide us as we begin to resume these activities. Today's action represents an important first step. It is not our final destination.”

Those who’ve received the second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine, and those who have received the single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, should wait two weeks after these doses to follow these guidelines.

The regulations are as followed:

• Visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distancing
• Visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or physical distancing, if the unvaccinated people are at low risk for severe disease.
• Skip quarantine and testing if exposed to someone who has Covid-19 but are asymptomatic, but should monitor for symptoms for 14 days

While this is good news, there are also some precautions the CDC has explained that these individuals need to take, which include wearing a mask around those who aren’t vaccinated and have an increased risk of contracting the virus and wearing a mask when around unvaccinated people from multiple households.

Whether individuals have received the full doses or not, they should still practice the COVID-19 precautions like washing their hands, wearing masks in public, refrain from traveling and getting tested if experiencing symptoms.