People who have been fully vaccinated can now visit their family and friends without worrying about restrictions. Those who are completely vaccinated can visit people who have not yet been vaccinated said the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention did specify that visits should only be made to one unvaccinated household at a time.
CDC Protocols For Vaccinated People
CDC officials also emphasized that grandparents should refrain from taking their grandchildren to crowded areas such as bringing them to church. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has also stated that it will update its guidelines soon. They plan on adapting the already existing guidelines once it is clear what the long-term effects of the vaccine are, whether the vaccine stops the spread of the virus, etc. So far there are still certain limits that people who are fully vaccinated must follow.
According to Tami Skoff who is the CDC epidemiologist on the Clinical Guidelines Team of the Vaccine Task Force, “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.”
Skoff conducted a webinar on public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. She stated that “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. These visits can be done indoors with no masks or physical distancing.” Tami Skoff was clear that these recommendations are only for those who have been completely vaccinated.
She continued by adding, “There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have an asymptomatic infection, and therefore potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others.”
She went on to explain, “We know that Covid vaccines are very effective at preventing people from getting the symptomatic disease (and) even more effective at preventing people from getting severe Covid-19 disease. Additionally, as I just discussed, you know there’s a lot of accumulating evidence that the currently available vaccines really helped to reduce or stop the spread of this virus from fully vaccinated people to others.”
There are two exceptions to these new guidelines, however. Everyone must follow safety precautions such as social distancing and wearing a mask if they come in contact with an unvaccinated person who is an older adult, pregnant woman, or has Down Syndrome. The other exception to this guideline would be if two unvaccinated households are mixing.
“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,” said Tami Skoff.
She stated that “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.”
Skoff was adamant about the fact that even though two fully vaccinated adults cannot take their children to church. She explained that right now children cannot be vaccinated and taking them to church at this point would expose them to the virus and its many variants. “Current CDC recommendations are that all people, including people who are fully vaccinated, should continue to avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings,” Skoff said.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.