Fully Vaccinated Americans Can Go Outside Without A Mask — US CDC

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors,
saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces
anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.

And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in
some cases, too.

The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on
the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has
killed over 570,000 people in U.S.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans
to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of each other.

The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at
least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have
been fully vaccinated.

“It’s the return of freedom,” said Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious
disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who
welcomed the change. “It’s the return of us being able to do normal
activities again. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the exit ramp.
And that’s a beautiful thing.”

More people need to be vaccinated, and concerns persist about
variants and other possible shifts in the epidemic. But Saag said
the new guidance is a sensible reward following the development and
distribution of effective vaccines and about 140 million Americans
stepping forward to get their shots.

The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the
crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been
doing over the past several weeks.

The CDC says that fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to
wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with
members of their household. They can also go maskless in small
outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.

But from there, the CDC has differing guidance for people who
are fully vaccinated and those who are not.

Unvaccinated people — defined by the CDC as those who have yet
to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the
one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at outdoor
gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should
keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.

Fully vaccinated people do not need to cover up in those
situations, the CDC says.

However, everyone should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor
events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.

And the agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public
places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, museums
and movie theaters.

Dr. Babak Javid, a physician-scientist at the University of
California, San Francisco, said the new CDC guidance is
sensible.

“In the vast majority of outdoor scenarios, transmission risk is
low,” Javid said.

Javid has favored outdoor mask-wearing requirements because he
believes they increase indoor mask-wearing, but he said Americans
can understand the relative risks and make good decisions.

“The key thing is to make sure people wear masks indoors” while
in public spaces, he said.

He added: “I’m looking forward to mask-free existence.”

“The timing is right because we now have a fair amount of data
about the scenarios where transmission occurs,” said Mercedes
Carnethon, a professor and vice chair of preventive medicine at
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in
Chicago.

What’s more, she said, “the additional freedoms may serve as a
motivator” for people to get vaccinated.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors,
saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces
anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.

And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in
some cases, too.

The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on
the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has
killed over 570,000 people in U.S.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans
to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of each other.

The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at
least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have
been fully vaccinated.

“It’s the return of freedom,” said Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious
disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who
welcomed the change. “It’s the return of us being able to do normal
activities again. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the exit ramp.
And that’s a beautiful thing.”

More people need to be vaccinated, and concerns persist about
variants and other possible shifts in the epidemic. But Saag said
the new guidance is a sensible reward following the development and
distribution of effective vaccines and about 140 million Americans
stepping forward to get their shots.

The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the
crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been
doing over the past several weeks.

The CDC says that fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to
wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with
members of their household. They can also go maskless in small
outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.

But from there, the CDC has differing guidance for people who
are fully vaccinated and those who are not.

Unvaccinated people — defined by the CDC as those who have yet
to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the
one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at outdoor
gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should
keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.

Fully vaccinated people do not need to cover up in those
situations, the CDC says.

However, everyone should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor
events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.

And the agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public
places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, museums
and movie theaters.

Dr. Babak Javid, a physician-scientist at the University of
California, San Francisco, said the new CDC guidance is
sensible.

“In the vast majority of outdoor scenarios, transmission risk is
low,” Javid said.

Javid has favored outdoor mask-wearing requirements because he
believes they increase indoor mask-wearing, but he said Americans
can understand the relative risks and make good decisions.

“The key thing is to make sure people wear masks indoors” while
in public spaces, he said.

He added: “I’m looking forward to mask-free existence.”

“The timing is right because we now have a fair amount of data
about the scenarios where transmission occurs,” said Mercedes
Carnethon, a professor and vice chair of preventive medicine at
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in
Chicago.

What’s more, she said, “the additional freedoms may serve as a
motivator” for people to get vaccinated.