PORTLAND, Ore. — Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials.
The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.
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.
“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 CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a statement.
"The change in CDC recommendations is now really allowing people some leeway when they get together in a private setting," said Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist Professor Dr. Dawn Nolt. "This sends the message that what we have been doing in terms of masking and distancing have been working, particularly here in Oregon. And now we have vaccinations, which provide another weapon for us to hopefully beat this pandemic back."
The CDC is still recommending that fully vaccinated people continue to wear well-fitted masks, avoid large gatherings, and physically distance themselves from others when out in public.
The CDC also advised vaccinated people to get tested if they develop symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.
Officials say a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine. As of Monday, almost 420,000 Oregonians had been fully vaccinated, which is around 9% of the total population.
"Because we don't know the risk factors or medical history of people around us, we still would ask that fully vaccinated people mask themselves and physically distance from other people," Dr. Nolt added.
If you're not fully vaccinated yet, stay the course: continue taking all precautionary steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
KGW reached out to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), which said it's still reviewing the recommendations to "see how they will align with Oregon's guidelines to control the spread of COVID-19."
OHA expects to share a statement and any updated guidance soon.
For now, the health authority asks Oregonians to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart, stay home, wash their hands often, and avoid gatherings and travel.
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