CDC Releases New Mask Guidelines for Fully Vaccinated Individuals
On May 13, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new mask guidelines for individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” The Director for the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
Individuals are defined by the CDC as fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. If people are not fully vaccinated, the CDC is encouraging people to continue masking and social distancing.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” Dr. Walensky said. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
Although the CDC updated the federal guidelines to mask wearing, individual towns, cities and states can have different requirements. On the list of possible exceptions is workplaces and colleges. Offices and colleges that return to fully in-person may have different masking and social distancing guidelines than the CDC.
“With regard to the updated CDC guidelines, our policies communicated on April 30 remain in place until we are provided with new guidance from New York State or the Dutchess County Department of Health,” Marist Executive Vice President Geoffrey L. Brackett said.
Although Marist policies will remain in place for the remainder of the spring semester, fully vaccinated students will have looser restrictions going into the summer. If individuals travel in the United States, they do not need to get tested or self-quarantine after travel. In addition, people do not need to get tested before leaving the United States unless their destination requires it.
“This past year has shown us that this virus can be unpredictable, so if things get worse, there is always a chance we may need to make a change to these recommendations,” Dr. Walensky said. “We know that the more people that are vaccinated, the less cases we will have and the less chance of a new spike or additional variants emerging.”
The CDC announced that fully vaccinated people will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
“Your health and how soon you return to normal life are in your very capable hands,” Dr. Walensky said. “This is a powerful moment that could only work because of so many who made sure we had the rapid administration of three safe and effective vaccines.”
Since Marist is a private institution that has large populations of students living in congregate settings, they will maintain a careful approach to relaxing masking guidelines for the remainder of the spring semester. With only two weeks left, the college will continue to prioritize the general health and safety of the campus population.
“All of our policies are driven by the public health guidelines from the CDC and the state as a start, but are also reviewed by our in-house Medical Advisory Group who advise the College on policy decisions related to public health,” Dr. Brackett said. “Guided by that data and discussions, the College sets policy.”
The new policies outlined by the CDC do not apply to unvaccinated individuals or those who have only received one dose of a two-dose vaccine. Two weeks after a person’s final COVID-19 vaccine is when they will be able to stop wearing their masks and social distancing in most settings. Marist continues to update its COVID-19 dashboard with relevant information for students.
“As of May 13th, the college has zero active cases and a positivity rate of zero,” Dr. Brackett said. “We are so proud of the efforts of the community that have made this possible.”
Two weeks after a person’s final COVID-19 vaccine is when they will be able to stop wearing their masks and social distancing in most settings. Source: Marist College, Instagram