Earlier, on Monday, March 8, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published “Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully-Vaccinated People” in non-health care settings. This was an update to guidance released in February, that allowed fully-vaccinated persons with an exposure to someone with, suspected, or confirmed COVID-19 to refrain from quarantine, providing the following criteria are met:
• are fully-vaccinated (i.e., ≥two weeks following receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series, or ≥two weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine);
• have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure.
The March 8, guidance also allows fully-vaccinated persons to
• visit with other fully-vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• visit with unvaccinated people from a single household, who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease, indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
• refrain from testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic, unless required for routine screening in a high-density workplace setting (e.g., meat processing plants.)
Fully-vaccinated persons should continue to monitor for symptoms for the full, 14 days post-exposure. They should seek medical evaluation if they experience symptoms.
All vaccinated persons should continue to
• take precautions in public, like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing.
• wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures, when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
• wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households.
• avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings.
• get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• follow guidance issued by individual employers.
• follow CDC travel requirements and recommendations.
CDC has also produced a webpage for the public, accessible at When You’ve Been fully-vaccinated. In addition to the interim guidance, CDC also published a Scientific Brief: “Background Rationale and Evidence for Public Health Recommendations for fully-vaccinated People.”