What You Can Do If Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely gather indoors and unmasked without physical distancing with small groups of other fully vaccinated people, according to guidance issued on March 8 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visits between vaccinated people and a small number of low-risk unvaccinated people from a single household are also acceptable, according to that guidance.
As a result, fully vaccinated grandparents, for example, can now hug their unvaccinated children and grandchildren as long as none of the unvaccinated people are at risk of severe COVID-19 because of factors such as heart disease, pregnancy, or obesity.
“We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said in a statement announcing the new guidance. “As more Americans are vaccinated, a growing body of evidence now tells us that there are more activities that fully vaccinated people can resume at low risk to themselves,” Walensky said at a March 8 press briefing.
For many people who have spent the past year avoiding contact with friends and family outside their household bubble, the new guidance is a sign that though precautions are still needed, there’s an end in sight to at least some restrictions.
"This is a step towards normalcy for those who have been vaccinated," says Gregory Poland, MD, a professor of medicine who studies vaccine response in adults and children, and director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic.
This guidance may also help demonstrate the benefits of getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 once vaccines are readily available to all.
“The guidance is risk based,” says James Dickerson, PhD, chief scientific officer for Consumer Reports. “If you are vaccinated and engaged with a small group of people, then your likelihood of spreading or catching the virus is probably low,” he says. When more people get vaccinated, Dickerson expects the guidance to change. “We will learn more about how long these vaccines are effective, so don’t be frustrated or concerned if the guidance changes,” he says.
Under the new guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they’ve received their last required vaccine dose—after a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or after one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. At that point, according to the new guidance, people are much less likely to develop symptoms of COVID-19, and may be less likely to spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 to others.
For most of the past year, the CDC has advised that people interact with people outside their household bubble indoors only while wearing a mask and practicing social distancing, and has encouraged people to keep interactions outdoors as much as possible.
The new guidance shows how vaccines will change those interactions.
No masks or social distancing precautions are needed for small indoor gatherings—generally considered six people or less, though that may vary depending on household size—where:
Everyone is vaccinated, such as a dinner with friends who are also vaccinated.
Vaccinated people meet with one other household of low-risk, unvaccinated people.
Masks, social distancing, and meeting outdoors or in a well-ventilated place is still needed in public settings and for gatherings where:
Any unvaccinated person in attendance is at high risk of severe COVID-19 or lives with someone at high risk.
More than one unvaccinated household is involved.
A large or moderate number of people—generally six or more—attend.
In addition, because the risk of developing COVID-19 is lower for vaccinated people, CDC guidance says that vaccinated people don't need to quarantine after being exposed to someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 as long as they don’t develop symptoms, though they should monitor for symptoms such as fever, cough, body aches, and shortness of breath for 14 days. Though it’s rare, some vaccinated people may still develop COVID-19, so if a vaccinated person does develop symptoms after exposure, they should isolate and be evaluated and tested for COVID-19, according to the guidance.
Some individuals may still want to take additional precautions, says Poland. For example, if a person is immunocompromised, they may still want to wear a mask and practice social distancing, even after they've been vaccinated, he says.
As more people are vaccinated, interactions will become safer—more than 2 million people are now receiving vaccines each day, according to Walensky.
The CDC says that this guidance will continue to be updated based on the levels of community spread of the coronavirus, the percentage of the population that’s fully vaccinated, and as we learn more about variants of the virus that are emerging.
