People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
Calling it an “exciting and powerful moment,” Walensky said the science supports the updated CDC guidance that “anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physical distancing.”
She cited three studies — one from Israel and two from the United States — that show vaccines work.
The Israeli study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed the vaccine was 97% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 and 86% effective against asymptomatic infection in over 5,000 health care workers.
Walensky’s announcement has a few caveats. She warned that people who are immune compromised should speak with their doctors before giving up their masks.
The requirement to wear masks during travel — on buses, trains, planes and public transportation — still stands, Walensky said. Guidance for travel will be updated as science emerges.
Kids ages 12 to 15 began receiving vaccinations for COVID-19 in the Tri-State Area and around the nation Thursday after the CDC authorized the Pfizer shot for emergency use in that age group.
Meantime, the state of Ohio is offering five vaccinated adults $1 million in a lottery in the hopes of getting more shots into arms.
