What the New CDC Guidelines Mean for Fully Vaccinated People and Others

• The CDC has released new guidelines for vaccinated people, stating that small social gatherings are allowed if everyone in the group has been vaccinated.
• The CDC still recommends continued vigilance with regard to mask-wearing and physically distancing in public.
• Experts interviewed by Healthline recommend a cautious approach to social gatherings, as a vaccinated person might still spread the virus.

After close to a year of pandemic fatigue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines today for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

With those recommendations is a glimmer of hope that things will return back to normal sooner rather than later.

The guidelines state that people in the United States who are 2 weeks past their final vaccination can gather indoors with other vaccinated people without masks or physical distancing.

They also state that vaccinated people can visit unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or distancing if those people are at low risk for COVID-19.

The CDC also says that vaccinated people can skip quarantine and testing if they’re exposed to someone with COVID-19 who’s asymptomatic. However, they say that vaccinated people should still monitor their symptoms for 14 days.

The agency also recommends that measures already in place, like physical distancing and mask-wearing in public, continue in other circumstances and for people who aren’t vaccinated.

While it doesn’t represent a full return to normalcy, the CDC’s announcement is a step in that direction after months of stay-at-home orders.

It also opens the door for social gatherings again, assuming everyone has been vaccinated.

Healthline spoke last week with several experts who gave their thoughts on plans to slowly but surely adjust to post-lockdown life.