CDC says vaccinated people can gather without masks

Granby kindergarten school teacher Christina Kibby receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine by pharmacist Madeline Acquilano, left, at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The first shipments of the vaccine arrived at the hospital this morning. Cities and states are rapidly expanding access to vaccines as the nation races to head off a resurgence in coronavirus infections and reopen schools and businesses battered by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

UNITED STATES – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put out some new guidelines for people vaccinated for COVID-19. Fully vaccinated people (meaning you have both shots) can gather indoors and outdoors with other fully vaccinated people. Fully vaccinated people are also allowed to visit with people that have not been vaccinated but those people must be at a low health risk. The CDC also said that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to have a two-week quarantine when exposed to COVID-19. “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 Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director. While people can gather locally, the CDC has not changed its travel restrictions. “… our travel guidance currently has been unchanged,” said Walensky. “We remain in the midst of a serious pandemic, and still over 90% of our population is not fully vaccinated, though we are working hard to get there.”

 

(Compiled from National Public Radio by Ewan Bickford for The Guilford Voyager, original reporting done by Allison Aubrey and Rachel Treisman)