CDC says vaccinated Americans don’t need COVID-19 tests, quarantine to travel

Fully vaccinated Americans traveling within the United States do not have to get tested for COVID-19 before or after their trip, and do not need to self-quarantine when they return home, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

It is the first change in travel guidance from the CDC since Americans started getting vaccinated and offers an easing of restrictions in place during the pandemic that began last year. The new guidance “now states that fully vaccinated people can resume travel at low risk to themselves,” according to a CDC statement.

Americans who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus can also travel internationally without getting tested beforehand, unless it is required by the overseas destination. Those returning to the United States from abroad also do not need to self-quarantine once they arrive.

They should, however, obtain a negative COVID-19 test result before they return from abroad, the CDC said.

The new federal guidance comes as a welcome development for a beleaguered travel industry that has been hoping for a return to some normalcy this summer, with millions of Americans getting vaccinated each day. McClatchy first reported the CDC’s plans to announce new guidance on Thursday.

According to the agency, nearly 40% of all adults in the United States have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than one in five adults is now fully vaccinated.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that the new guidance urges all travelers, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation.

The CDC guidance for Americans who have not been vaccinated remains the same, discouraging all travel, Walensky said.