The CDC has finally released new guidance for vaccinated Americans and it includes ditching face masks for almost every outdoor activity, aside from attending a crowded outdoor event like a concert or sports game. The new guidelines were issued Tuesday morning and advise fully vaccinated Americans to feel free to forgo masks when walking, running, or biking outdoors, attending small outdoor gatherings with other fully vaccinated and unvaccinated friends and family members, and when dining outdoors with friends from multiple households, though they still advise fully vaccinated people to wear masks at crowded outdoor events, anytime they’re in a large crowd and when doing pretty much every indoor activity you can think of. So, if you’re fully vaccinated, it’s probably smart to still keep your face masks handy.
Unvaccinated people are still advised to wear masks when doing indoor and outdoor activities except when walking, running, or biking with members of your household or when attending outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated family and friends. The CDC considers individuals fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or two weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The guidelines also include new rules for domestic travel, giving fully vaccinated people the go-ahead to travel without testing before or after, or self-quarantining, as well as when embarking on international travel, however, we’d like to point out that different countries have different rules about this, so you should definitely check each respective country’s guidelines if you plan on going overseas this summer.
According to the CDC, to date, 231 million Americans have been vaccinated and daily covid cases are on a sharp downward trend.