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 In a long-awaited update of its guidance for behaviors to prevent
the spread of the coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) said fully vaccinated people could also meet in
small groups with unvaccinated individuals deemed at low-risk for
severe COVID-19 from one other household without masks.
The slight lifting of restrictions represented a still cautious
approach to public health guidance despite the quickly growing
number of vaccinated people. President Joe Biden has urged Americans
to remain vigilant and continue to follow CDC guidelines to prevent
another surge of cases.
The CDC said fully vaccinated people should continue to follow many
precautions such as avoiding big in-person gatherings, wearing masks
when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households or
wearing masks when with people at risk for severe COVID-19.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters it was important to
protect those who have not been vaccinated and remain vulnerable
while some 60,000 new coronavirus cases occur every day.
"We remain in the midst of a serious pandemic, and still over 90
percent of our population is not fully vaccinated," she said.
"Therefore, everyone whether vaccinated or not, should continue to
avoid medium- and large-sized gatherings as well as non-essential
travel."
More than 525,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States.
Biden, who took office on Jan. 20, has encouraged Americans to wear
masks for his first 100 days as president, a contrast from the
approach by former President Donald Trump, who downplayed the
pandemic and eschewed masks. Some states have begun to lift
restrictions on a large scale.
Many Americans eager to get back to their pre-pandemic way of life
see vaccinations as a way to do that. Businesses, particularly in
the travel and hospitality industry, are hopeful that a growing
number of vaccinated people will feel comfortable flying and dining
out again.
'AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP'
The new guidelines address how vaccinated people can safely resume
some more normal activities and contacts with those outside their
households while the coronavirus is still widely circulating, but
they did not represent a large shift.
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 "Today's action represents an
important first step. It is not our final
destination," Walensky said. "As more people get
vaccinated, levels of COVID-19 infection decline
in communities, and as our understanding of
COVID immunity accrues, we look forward to
updating these recommendations to the public."
The recommendations come as about 30 million
people, or 9.2% of the U.S. population, have
been fully inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines
made by Pfizer Inc/ BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and
Johnson & Johnson, according to CDC data.
Nearly 18% of the U.S. population, or 58.9
million adults had received at least one dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine.
The new guidelines were "reasonable and quite
appropriate," said Carlos del Rio, executive
associate dean at the Emory School of Medicine.
"We need to start telling people what to do, and
in that, the guidelines are pretty clear."
Currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines prevent
people from becoming ill but not necessarily
from being infected. Data on whether vaccinated
people can still spread the virus to unprotected
people is sparse, and Walensky warned that the
risk vaccinated people could spread the disease
remained.
The CDC last month said vaccinated individuals
could skip the standard 14-day quarantine after
exposure to someone with COVID-19, as long as
they remain asymptomatic.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Lisa Lambert in
Washington, Manas Mishra in Bengalaru and Carl
O'Donnell in New York; Writing by Caroline Humer
and Jeff Mason; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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