CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Drop Their Masks
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Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. “We have all longed for this moment,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D, said at a press briefing. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.” You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, or two weeks after the second dose of either the .
For now, the CDC says there are still some scenarios when fully vaccinated people should wear a mask: in hospitals, medical offices and nursing homes; at correctional facilities and homeless shelters; and when traveling by plane, bus, train or other public transportation. Walensky said Thursday that the agency may soon revisit some of those guidelines as well.
Vaccinated people should also obey and wear a face covering if required by and workplaces, the CDC says.
If you have a , talk to your doctor about whether it’s safe to drop your mask.
He notes the CDC had faced criticism, including from some health officials, for being too cautious. The new guidelines, he says, “will make many, many people happy, and perhaps encourage some people to get vaccinated.”
About 119 million Americans, or more than a third of the population, are against COVID-19. Nearly 72 percent of adults 65 and older are fully vaccinated. But the number of vaccinations administered per day has slowed in recent weeks.
AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. and practice social distancing, the CDC guidance says.
At the news conference, Walensky said the science for unvaccinated people is clear: “You remain at risk of mild or severe illness, death or spreading the disease to others. You should still mask and you should get vaccinated right away.”
Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Of course, when you’re out and about, there will be no easy way to distinguish between those who are vaccinated and those who are unvaccinated. Critics say there’s nothing to stop those who haven’t gotten their shot(s) from also going without a mask.
In a news conference Thursday, an unmasked President Joe Biden called the new guidelines “a great milestone,” and when asked how masking among unvaccinated Americans would be enforced, he said he believes they “care about the safety of their neighbors."
“We’re not going to go out and arrest people,” he said. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, wear your mask for your own protection and the protection of the people who also have not been vaccinated yet.”
It’s unlikely that businesses or organizers of large sporting events and concerts will step up and start requiring proof of vaccination, Cherian says. “Essentially it will come down to an honor system,” he says.
AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. right away, Walensky says.
Schaffner says he and his wife will likely continue to wear masks for a while. “We’re down in Tennessee, where the proportion of the population that is unvaccinated is still very, very high,” he says. “We both have some gray hair, and we both have some minor medical conditions.... That makes us careful and wary.”
Epidemiologist Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, says he, too, will keep wearing his mask indoors when he is around others who may be unvaccinated.
“I will wear my mask indoors until we reach herd immunity and cases are very low,” he says.
CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Drop Their Masks
Understanding the big changes brought by the new guidance — and what the exceptions may be
Getty Images If you are , you may stop wearing a mask and social distancing in most settings, including at crowded indoor and outdoor events, according to by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a big step toward a return to pre-pandemic life, and one that may take some getting used to for weary Americans who have been covering their faces and living with restrictions for more than a year.Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. “We have all longed for this moment,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D, said at a press briefing. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.” You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, or two weeks after the second dose of either the .
For now, the CDC says there are still some scenarios when fully vaccinated people should wear a mask: in hospitals, medical offices and nursing homes; at correctional facilities and homeless shelters; and when traveling by plane, bus, train or other public transportation. Walensky said Thursday that the agency may soon revisit some of those guidelines as well.
Vaccinated people should also obey and wear a face covering if required by and workplaces, the CDC says.
If you have a , talk to your doctor about whether it’s safe to drop your mask.
An incentive to get vaccinated br
William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, calls the new guidelines “an important step forward.”He notes the CDC had faced criticism, including from some health officials, for being too cautious. The new guidelines, he says, “will make many, many people happy, and perhaps encourage some people to get vaccinated.”
About 119 million Americans, or more than a third of the population, are against COVID-19. Nearly 72 percent of adults 65 and older are fully vaccinated. But the number of vaccinations administered per day has slowed in recent weeks.
AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. and practice social distancing, the CDC guidance says.
At the news conference, Walensky said the science for unvaccinated people is clear: “You remain at risk of mild or severe illness, death or spreading the disease to others. You should still mask and you should get vaccinated right away.”
Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Of course, when you’re out and about, there will be no easy way to distinguish between those who are vaccinated and those who are unvaccinated. Critics say there’s nothing to stop those who haven’t gotten their shot(s) from also going without a mask.
In a news conference Thursday, an unmasked President Joe Biden called the new guidelines “a great milestone,” and when asked how masking among unvaccinated Americans would be enforced, he said he believes they “care about the safety of their neighbors."
“We’re not going to go out and arrest people,” he said. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, wear your mask for your own protection and the protection of the people who also have not been vaccinated yet.”
It’s unlikely that businesses or organizers of large sporting events and concerts will step up and start requiring proof of vaccination, Cherian says. “Essentially it will come down to an honor system,” he says.
Some may continue to wear masks br
Partly because of that uncertainty, some experts say that put them at higher risk from COVID-19 may want to continue wearing a mask, particularly if they attend a large indoor gathering or crowded event.AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. right away, Walensky says.
Schaffner says he and his wife will likely continue to wear masks for a while. “We’re down in Tennessee, where the proportion of the population that is unvaccinated is still very, very high,” he says. “We both have some gray hair, and we both have some minor medical conditions.... That makes us careful and wary.”
Epidemiologist Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, says he, too, will keep wearing his mask indoors when he is around others who may be unvaccinated.
“I will wear my mask indoors until we reach herd immunity and cases are very low,” he says.