Fully vaccinated Americans can only socialize with ONE unvaccinated household of low risk family and friends at a time, new CDC guidelines say amid worries of big reunions
Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with unvaccinated family members and friends without any restrictions who live under one roof, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday
In a clarification of its guidelines for those who have received one of the three approved vaccines, the agency said that visits should be kept to one unvaccinated household at a time amid fears of large gatherings, CNN reported.
Officials also reiterated the unvaccinated people must be at low risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.
More and more research suggests those who are fully vaccinated are less likely to be asymptomatic and spread the virus to others.
'In the setting that the unvaccinated people are from a single household, and all the unvaccinated people are at low risk of severe COVID-19 illness, no prevention measures are needed, so these visits could happen indoors with no mask or physical distancing,' Dr Tami Skoff, epidemiologist on the CDC's Clinical Guidelines Team of the Vaccine Task Force, said during a web briefing, according to CNN.
The updated recommendations apply to the 44.9 million Americans - 13.5 percent of the population - who have been fully inoculated.
Officials say a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine, either two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shot or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson jab.
Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can visit unvaccinated people without restrictions, according to the CDC. Pictured: Farm worker Marcos Cruz receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in Delano, California, March 13
Visits should be kept to one unvaccinated household at a time and the unvaccinated people should be a low risk for severe illness from COVID-19. So far, 13.5% of the population are fully immunized
Masks and social distancing should be maintained if there is a gathering such as two families, each with two fully vaccinated adults and two unvaccinated kids. An average of 2.5 million Americans are being vaccinated every day
During the web briefing, the CDC used the example of fully vaccinated grandparents visiting their unvaccinated children and grandchildren.
'And the example we like to give here is fully vaccinated grandparents can visit with their unvaccinated daughter and her unvaccinated children, assuming none of them are at high risk of severe disease,' Skoff said.
'These visits can be done indoors with no masks or physical distancing.
CNN reported that Skoff said there are two exceptions to the guidelines that would require all people, regardless of vaccination status, to follow mitigation measures.
This includes if fully vaccinated people are seeing anyone at risk of severe illness or if there is a gathering between two unvaccinated households.
'According to the CDC recommendations, if unvaccinated persons from more than one household are participating in a visit, then these visits should continue to happen outside and everyone regardless of vaccination status should be physically distanced and wearing well-fitted masks,' Skoff said.
'The example we like to give here is if we have two families visiting with one another. Both families have two fully vaccinated adults and two unvaccinated children. In this example we'd recommend that the visit take place outdoors and everyone wear masks and physically distance.'
When asked if it would be acceptable for two fully vaccinated adults to take children to church, Skoff advised against it, according to CNN.
She said this is because children cannot yet be vaccinated against COVID-19 and, until they can, they should avoid crowds.
The CDC first released their guidelines for vaccinated people on March 8, giving the U.S. a sneak-peek of what the new normal will look like in the next few months.
The recommendations were designed to address a growing demand, as more adults have been getting vaccinated and wondering if it gives them greater freedom to visit family members, travel, or do other things like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world last year.
However, the agency still recommends that Americans avoid travel, even if they are fully vaccinated.
'We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love,' said CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, in a statement at the time.
'There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in their own homes. Everyone - even those who are vaccinated – should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings.
'As the science evolves and more people get vaccinated, we will continue to provide more guidance to help fully vaccinated people safely resume more activities.'
However, the agency is continuing to recommend that fully vaccinated people continue to wear well-fitted masks, avoid large gatherings, and physically distance themselves from others when out in public.
The CDC also advised vaccinated people to get tested if they develop symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.
Officials hope that relaxing guidelines will encourage more people who are on the fence about vaccinating to receive the dose.
'[This] may help improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake,' the guidelines state.
'Therefore, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, at low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the virus to others.'
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