Indoor and outdoor gatherings safe two weeks after your last shot
If you’re fully vaccinated — two weeks after your final shot — you can ditch that mask and get up close and personal in most settings, the CDC says. Of course, if your state or city says different, you still have to obey the rules. But in most cases the rules follow the guidance from the CDC, so expect to see some changes.
Among the changes announced Thursday, fully vaccinated people with known exposure to someone with COVID-19 don’t need to take a test or quarantine as long as the vaccinated person is asymptomatic and don’t need to test or self-quarantine when traveling unless it’s required by the destination. If you’re experiencing symptoms you should still get tested, and if you test positive you should still self-quarantine for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or exposure.
The riskiest activities are now deemed safe as long as you’re fully vaccinated. If you go to an outdoor concert or sporting event, sing indoors, hang out indoors with a group of people from multiple households (vaccinated or unvaccinated), you don’t need to wear a mask. Eat indoors, get a haircut, go to the movies, it’s all good.
It remains to be seen how quickly state and local authorities will move, which private businesses will still require masks or proof of vaccination, and there’s absolutely going to be abuse by people who aren’t vaccinated. But it’s further incentive for those on the fence to get vaccinated. And it’s some of the most freeing news to come along since last March.
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