CDC Issues Updated Public Health Guidelines for Vaccinated Individuals

As the number receiving COVID-19 vaccines grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated public health guidelines. Specifically, the May 16 guidelines address updated recommendations that fully vaccinated individuals can follow as it relates to daily activities. The latest CDC release follows April’s guidance on what fully vaccinated individuals should do when out in a public location.

CDC Definition of “Fully Vaccinated”

According to the CDC, an individual becomes “fully vaccinated” when the following has occurred:

• Two weeks have passed after their second dose in a 2-dose series, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; or
• It has been two weeks since they received a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

If less than two weeks have passed since an individual’s last shot, they do not qualify as thoroughly protected. Accordingly, if a person received the first shot but not yet the second dose, they are not fully protected. Any individual who falls into those examples should follow all prevention steps until fully vaccinated.

Overview of Updated Guidelines

According to the public health recommendations, fully vaccinated people can:

• Resume activities that they did before the pandemic.
• Perform activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart. However, if various laws, rules, and regulations require masks and social distancing, individuals must abide. Likewise, local businesses and workplaces can still require masks and social distancing at their discretion.
• Travel in the United States without getting tested before or after travel or self-quarantining after a trip.
• Travel internationally without testing before leaving the United States unless the destination requires it. But, travelers need to show a COVID negative test result or recovery documentation when traveling to the United States. Travelers must provide the documentation before boarding the international flight. Additionally, all travelers should still seek out and take a COVID-19 test 3-5 days after international travel. Travelers, however, do not need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.

The updated public health guidelines also state that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to:

• Stay away from others unless you have symptoms.
• Get tested unless you have symptoms.

For now, however, the CDC states that fully vaccinated people should continue to:

• Follow guidance at workplaces and local businesses.
• Wear a mask on public transportation like planes, buses, and trains, traveling into, within, or out of the United States. Commuters should also wear masks in transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
• Watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if they’ve been around someone who is sick.