On Monday the CDC announced that fully-vaccinated Americans could gather with other vaccinated people indoors, without wearing masks or worrying about social distancing.
However, the updates fell short of those who hoped to see the CDC say that those who were vaccinated could return to normal life.
The guidance is 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, according to the AP.
It’s described as a ‘first step’ toward normalcy.
A person is considered fully-vaccinated approximately two weeks after receiving the last dose. At this point, approximately 9% of the population is vaccinated.
“I hope that this new guidance provides the momentum for everyone to get vaccinated when they can and gives states the patience to follow the public health roadmap needed to reopen their economies and communities safely,” said Besser, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Dr. Leana Wen called the guidance “far too cautious.”
“The CDC is missing a major opportunity to tie vaccination status with reopening guidance. By coming out with such limited guidance, they are missing the window to influence state and national policy,” Wen added.
Rochester Regional Health Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Emil Lesho spoke with News10NBC about the whole change. “In their immediate household in a private setting, if everyone in that setting has been fully vaccinated, then it would be ok for people to hug and take off the mask,” he said. “Most of the population hasn’t been vaccinated yet, for that reason, you have to continue to wear a mask and practice distancing, all the same things that we’ve been doing—no change to what we’ve been doing when we’re out in public.”
He says that until 70-85% of the population is vaccinated- returning to normal won’t be safe.
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