Updated CDC guidance says people vaccinated against Covid-19 can go without masks indoors and outdoors in most settings

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday will ease indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places, according to a person briefed on the announcement.

The new guidance will still call for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but could ease restrictions for reopening workplaces and schools.

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It will also no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks outdoors in crowds. The announcement comes as the CDC and the Biden administration have faced pressure to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated people — people who are two weeks past their last required COVID-19 vaccine dose — in part to highlight the benefits of getting the shot.

The eased guidance comes two weeks after the CDC recommended that fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks indoors in all settings and outdoors in large crowds.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement ahead of the official release. The White House did not comment on the matter.

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This is big. Hopefully this news can convince more people to get the vaccine- they really work!

The CDC website has been updated with official guidance:

If you've been fully vaccinated:

• You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
• You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
• If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destinationbefore traveling outside the United States.
  • You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
  • You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
  • You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
  • You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
• If you've been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live or work in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still get tested, even if you don't have symptoms.

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more.

www.cdc.gov

 

[Smokeymicpot]

YES!

 

[Nemesis121]

I will continue to wear mask for the rest of my life, since i started wearing the mask i haven't had the flu or common cold..

 

[Deleted member 2379]

They really needed to do this.
It's sort of hard to convince people that a vaccine works and they should get it and you also tell them that they need to wear a mask at almost all times.

the position that getting the vaccine only allows you to take off the mask in two more instances was such an obvious foot fault

 

[jml]

I think during this weird in-between/transitional period I'm still gonna wear masks indoors for a few more months anyway. I don't mind wearing masks and I figure if it makes anyone around me feel more at ease it'll be worth it.

 

[Futureman]

I wonder how this will affect states that still have mandates? PA is masks indoors until 70% of the population is vaccinated... which may not be until late summer or so.

 

[MrCheezball]

Good. This is the endgame for people getting the vaccine.

 

[The Lord of Cereal]

Without any sort of vaccine passport system to help enforce this, I cannot help but feel like this is a really bad idea...

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I wonder if you'll have to display your card.

 

[Sectorseven]

I guess we're on the honor system with this?

 

[Shokunin]

I wonder how this will affect states that still have mandates? PA is masks indoors until 70% of the population is vaccinated... which may not be until late summer or so.

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This is just guidance, not an order.

Either way, I'm ready to ditch my mask in this Florida humidity. Rock on.

 

[tacocat]

This is excellent news. Our efforts are finally paying off. Good job to everyone who social distanced and stayed home and masked up. We all did our part and the scientists and health professionals did theirs. Its a group win and we all should feel great about this. Are movie theaters going to make a comeback this fall??

I will continue to wear mask for the rest of my life, since i started wearing the mask i haven't had the flu or common cold..

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You do you. Hopefully people don't give you grief over it.

 

[TaySan]

Great news! We are getting closer to normal life again

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

No I'm going to be keeping mine.

 

[Deleted member 2379]

I will continue to wear mask for the rest of my life, since i started wearing the mask i haven't had the flu or common cold..

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That can also be driven by not seeing other people.

the masks don't really help all that much when others don't wear them. You also have contact transmission of other colds.

 

[DrForester]

Even if the science supports this, they really shouldn't' call for this until the vaccination rate is higher and we can better account for the anti-vax crowd that will just lie about being vaccinated.

Wait until the end of June or something. We can do another 2 months.

 

[MIMIC]

Yay :)

 

[carlsojo]

bUt Is It ToO sOoN?

 

[Nemesis121]

That can also be driven by not seeing other people.

the masks don't really help all that much when others don't wear them. You also have contact transmission of other colds.

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I have to travel on NJ transit and NYC subway, i see people..

 

[Armadilo]

I really feel that by July America will be fully open and without masks because it feels like nobody wants to be overprotective anymore

 

[Slash]

Even if the science supports this, they really shouldn't' call for this until the vaccination rate is higher and we can better account for the anti-vax crowd that will just lie about being vaccinated.

Wait until the end of June or something. We can do another 2 months.

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I don't think this is saying to get rid of all mask mandates, but they really need more ways to incentivize people to get the vaccine since the numbers are falling. This is the clearest sign yet that vaccines will be a game changer for most people.

 

[CrocM]

Wonder how businesses will react

 

[Replicant]

This is a big no no for me. We just had 3 fully vaccinated staff testing positive from exposure to student. Vaccination is not the be all end all. Stay safe and do what you need to.

 

[Violence Jack]

Good. I don't mind wearing a mask, and I will do so when I come down with an illness, but this is the start to getting back to normal. I still wish the government would enforce it being mandatory for air travel and to enroll kids in public schools to whittle down the anti-vaxxers and the conspiracy theorists. Maybe that's the next step since we're seeing that the vaccine is working.

 

[metalslimer]

This is a mistake and I am all for CA ending their requirements. We still have states with 30% of people vaccinated so we do not need a nationwide guidance telling people to not wear masks

 

[maxxpower]

Motherfucking antivaxers need to get on board and get vaccinated. We're so fucking close.

 

[Bob White]

I will continue to wear mask for the rest of my life, since i started wearing the mask i haven't had the flu or common cold..

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You may want to be careful with that, right? I mean, we NEED to get sick every now and then. You don't want some shit wreaking havoc on your body because your immune system is rusty.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

This is a big no no for me. We just had 3 fully vaccinated staff testing positive from exposure to student. Vaccination is not the be all end all. Stay safe and do what you need to.

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Yeah, and I am really afraid there will be no going back for most people if things were to turn bad.

On top of the fact that there will be plenty of pieces of shit lying about being vaccinated.

 

[DanteMenethil]

Yeah no, vaccination is not invulnerability

 

[Slash]

Probably going to officially announce it in 45 minutes:

 

[TitlePending]

Just in time for summer!

I wonder if this applies to children 11 years and younger who can't get the vaccine.

Yeah no, vaccination is not invulnerability

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No doubt. But risk of catching it is significantly reduced, and the chances of going to the hospital even smaller, and possible death smaller still.

 

[daegan]

Without any sort of vaccine passport system to help enforce this, I cannot help but feel like this is a really bad idea...

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This. It's going to undermine states that have set it as a vaccination %age goal as well - like MI. At least I expect a lot of retail/hospitality chains to keep it in place for their employees but we'll see

 

[nStruct]

I don't think this is ideal, but hopefully it could be a carrot on a stick for the hesitant

 

[Deleted member 36708]

I will continue to wear mask for the rest of my life, since i started wearing the mask i haven't had the flu or common cold..

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Yeah it's going to be a while before I give up the mask. Not this damn soon. Maybe a couple years from now.

 

[RDreamer]

Don't like it. Essentially it'll end any ability for any business or government to require masks, because there's zero way to be sure someone is vaccinated. I'd rather get to lower prevalence and give more time for kids and others to get vaccinated to protect us collectively.

 

[MIMIC]

This is a big no no for me. We just had 3 fully vaccinated staff testing positive from exposure to student. Vaccination is not the be all end all. Stay safe and do what you need to.

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THREE?? Contracting covid after being vaccinated is supposedly incredibly rare. I honestly find this a little hard to believe.

 

[wingkongex]

I want to very badly but I do not trust anybody. If I knew the vaccination rates were higher I'd burn these masks asap.

 

[DanteMenethil]

No doubt. But risk of catching it is significantly reduced, and the chances of going to the hospital even smaller, and possible death smaller still.

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Yeah but personally until the pandemic is over I'm keeping it on. Really don't want to catch that shit.

 

[HylianSeven]

FUCK YEAH

I wear them as needed and have been, but I'm really glad to hear this is happening and we are yet another big step closer to back to normal.

I really hope after COVID is "over" people wear masks if they feel sick during flu season, but I don't expect it to happen.

I don't think we should shame people that still want to wear masks, and I don't blame them honestly. I totally get it. I generally trust the CDC's judgment on these things, as they have been the voice of science and reason during this whole pandemic (no matter how much the last presidential administration wanted to ignore them).

 

[Slayven]

I am a ninja now, I am wearing them forever

 

[CrocM]

This is a big no no for me. We just had 3 fully vaccinated staff testing positive from exposure to student. Vaccination is not the be all end all. Stay safe and do what you need to.

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Did they get sick?

 

[Obi Wan Jabroni]

Glad to get past this but I do plan on wearing a mask if I am sick from now on.

It's the courteous thing to do and I hope more people follow suit.

 

[Slash]

I want to very badly but I do not trust anybody. If I knew the vaccination rates were higher I'd burn these masks asap.

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To be fair, nearly 60% of adults are at least partially vaccinated by now. I think it's higher than most people think.

 

[The Albatross]

Nice. This is the right call.

States can still enforce their own order, but the CDC should issue recommendations on what's best based on the science and data of what we know. They can't keep wading into the behavioral predictions of, "This will lead to some people who aren't vaccinated to lie about it and not wear a mask..." Sure it will, but when the CDC issues these wishy washy statements that aren't based in facts, but rather the perceptions of behavior from people who aren't going to listen to the CDC in the first place, then it ends up muddling the whole message. The CDC has flubbed a lot of the recommendations over the last 14 months, and some of it is because we just didn't know and they were being cautious (covid transmission from surfaces, covid transmission outdoors, etc), or motivated by other reasons (mask shortages), but they've been very slow and overly cautious at then rolling back those recommendations when they do get more evidence. A lot of Michael Lewis' new book is about this, I haven't read it but listened to the book review podcast and his Ezra Klein interview, and I think he's right.

I suspect a lot of national chains will keep their recommendations in place. Even before the mask orders went into affect, a lot of chains still required people to wear masks in the store.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...te=1&user_id=39ef118b7be873253cfc41aad4c44acf

I agree with this article from a couple weeks ago, it was primarily around the mixed messaging on outdoor masks, but applies similar to vaccinated people.

Now, a year later, both the sociology of outdoor masks and the precautionary principle operate in the opposite direction, because the science is in. We need to change the rules again, but also explain why.

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To be fair, nearly 60% of adults are at least partially vaccinated by now. I think it's higher than most people think.

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Yeah, especially regionally. For instance in Massachusetts and much of New England, adult vaccination rates are around 75% for the first dose. As of yesterday, the state has administered more total doses than the entire population of the state. WIthin 4 weeks, 75% of adults will be fully vaccinated, and you're starting to get to those herd immunity levels now that children can begin getting doses (although that rollout is likely to be a lot slower).

 

[Thunder11]

fantastic news, driven by data, and also hopefully increasing the credibility of the agency in the eyes of the public wrt future guidance

Even if the science supports this, they really shouldn't' call for this until the vaccination rate is higher and we can better account for the anti-vax crowd that will just lie about being vaccinated.

Wait until the end of June or something. We can do another 2 months.

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who are you to say what they should call for? what are you basing your stance on?

 

[Spasm]

Fully vaccinated, here. I will continue to wear a mask in public until my State's 7-day moving average falls, at least, below the rate of this time last year. Right now we're still at 2x-3x last year.

Good that it may offer a carrot to those who may be hesitant, though.

 

[Deleted member 1086]

Less and less people are wearing them indoors now anyway, can only pray they are all vaccinated but who knows.

 

[Obi Wan Jabroni]

Motherfucking antivaxers need to get on board and get vaccinated. We're so fucking close.

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Those people do not give a fuck.

At all.

It is infuriating.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Don't like it. Essentially it'll end any ability for any business or government to require masks, because there's zero way to be sure someone is vaccinated. I'd rather get to lower prevalence and give more time for kids and others to get vaccinated to protect us collectively.

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At this point, red states have been undermining mask mandates or guidance for a year now. It's been over a year of disruptions in general and extremely effective vaccines are widely available. I'm not sure we can keep all these rules in place simply because there is a percentage of people that will refuse to do anything at all to fully stamp this out.

Yeah there is a risk of mutations that defeat the vaccine, but obviously data now must be showing that vaccinated people are just especially well protected.

 

[Dr Doom]

Less and less people are wearing them indoors now anyway, can only pray they are all vaccinated but who knows.

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anti-vaxxers are wearing mask so they don't catch the nano machines